Out of Control
by Diablo-Angelus
Summary: Things are getting out of control for Stephanie. Everything in her life seems to be making decisions without her. On top of that, there's a new lady in Ranger's life and it doesn't look like she's going anywhere... please R and R. Rated R for language mos
1. In the beginning

I carefully lifted his arm off of me and rolled off the bed. I quickly collected my clothes and threw them into the laundry basket I'd carried them in. After quickly throwing some clothes on, I padded quietly over to the side of the bed where he was sleeping. I smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of his face. I was so grateful to him for everything, the way he took me in and looked after me. The way he'd insisted on taking me home with him after the incident in the park with Junkman. The way I always felt safe around him...

"I'm sorry" I whispered "I'm so sorry it has to be like this. I just can't do this anymore. I can't keep having these one off nights, I mean I love them, I love being so close with you but I just can't do it anymore. I have to feel secure, I'm 30 years old and I just keep jumping from your bed to his. It's killing me. I have to just feel...settled, I need to be control of my life and not just have it controlled by the two of you. Goodbye, thanks for anything." I kissed him lightly on the forehead and stood up. I opened the door, paused briefly and stared back at his sleeping form.

"I do love you" I told him "I love you in my own way". This was the only time I could tell him these things, when he was sleeping and completely oblivious to anything I said. "Bye Ranger" I said finally and shut the door. The sun was just starting to rise above the sky line of Trenton. I closed the front door behind me and stepped into the lift.

Ranger rolled onto his back and sighed. He knew it had been coming, that's why he'd made last night so special. He sighed and rapidly closed and opened his eyes, trying to blink away the tears that would never fall.

I flipped open my cell phone and typed in the phone number. After about nine rings, he picked up. His voice told me he'd only just woken up.

"Yeah?" He murmured, almost inaudibly.

"Joe? Sorry to be calling so early. It's Steph and I need a ride. I'm outside Ranger's building." I heard him sigh in relief.

"Sure, I'll be there in about ten minutes." He promised. I flipped the phone closed and leant against the wall. It was hard to believe I was going to do this. This would probably the last decision of this sort I would have to make in a long time. I heard the front door of the building open behind me. I turned and saw Tank emerge, blinking at the daylight. He looked up at me but didn't smile, not even slightly. He walked to my side silently. We both just stood there for a couple of minutes in silence, before he cleared his throat and held out a set of car keys.

"He just asked me to give you these. He said you didn't have a decent set of wheels, if you actually have any so you can take the Porsche." I smiled at him and shook my head.

"No, I can't take it. I need to be independent, have no strings attaching me to anyone or anything. I know you may not understand-"

"I do understand, I'm just looking out for my friend." Tank cut in. A car pulled up to the curb in front of us and Morelli leant out.

"Hey cupcake, hop in." He called. I jumped up and grabbed my laundry basket. As I turned to walk to the car, Tank grabbed my arm and pulled me round to face him. His face was expressionless.

"You need to go easy on Ric-I mean Ranger. He's not as tough as he seems to be." He nodded and walked back into the building.

"Tank" I heard myself calling out "I never meant to hurt him. Things just got...out of hand. I hope you can both forgive me." He nodded and walked away. I didn't look back again, just walked around to the car and climbed in. We drove away, back to his house.

Every night I spent at Morelli's was wild, like he was trying to reclaim me, trying to erase anything that had happened with Ranger. I hadn't seen Ranger for about three weeks. I didn't think it was just a coincidence, I was certain he was avoiding me.

After about a month of moving back in with Joe, I started to notice things were different with me. I felt sick most days. Then I realised I was late by a few days. Things were getting too weird and there was only one thing to do. When Joe was working late, I phoned Mary Lou.

"I need a favour. Again" I said when she answered.

"Sure thing. What can I do for you?" obliging as ever, I was only just realising how lucky I was to have such a good friend.

"I need you to get over here now. And I need you to bring a home pregnancy test." I instructed and quickly hung up before she could start to inquire too much. About fifteen minutes later, after I'd almost gnawed my fingernails off completely, there was a knock at the door. Mary Lou was stood on the porch, holding a chemist bag and looking confused.

"Ok, are you actually late this time or is it just another suspicion?" She asked. I smiled as she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"I'm a couple of days late." I took the bag of her and walked upstairs, Mary Lou following faithfully. I shut myself n the bathroom without saying another word. I didn't need beer this time.

I compared the pregnancy stick to the code on the instructions again and again, just to make sure I hadn't mis-read it. It could not be right. But it was. It was right here in front of me and I could do nothing to change it.

Mary Lou was hammering on the door.

"Steph are you ok? You've been in there for about twenty minutes. What's up?" I got up and opened the door. I must have looked a state, because when Mary Lou saw me, she took a sharp inhale of breath.

"Woah, you look...are you ok? You're scaring me" She stated. I turned and stared at my reflection in the mirror. White face and red rimmed eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but no noise came out. Mary Lou ran into the bathroom and poured me a glass of water. I drank it and cleared my throat. My hand was shaking uncontrollably. I stared my friend in the eyes. She looked so scared, so concerned.

"Mary Lou, I'm...I'm pregnant."


	2. Back to work

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.

Mary Lou stared at me for a few seconds, then grabbed the stick out of my hand and started examining it intently.

"Are you sure? I mean, you're actually pregnant?" She garbled. I shrugged and nodded at the same time. There was no point trying to avoid it or deny it. I was pregnant. Thoughts were flooding in all at once, drowning me.

"I've got to tell Joe." I announced. Mary Lou nodded

"Well duh, it kinda goes without saying. I can't believe you and Joe are going to have a baby! This is so huge! Do you think you'll get married now? I mean, it's the perfect reason. Will you have to stop work?" Of all the thoughts in my head, I hadn't thought of marriage or work. Shit. Right on cue, the front door opened.

"Hey Steph, are you home?" Joe called from the hall. I took a deep breath and grasped Mary Lou's hand.

"Yeah I'm up here; I'll be down in a second." I called back and started taking steps towards the stairs. Each step seemed to be a mile long and the stairs didn't seem to be getting any closer. Mary Lou was still with me, guiding me towards the staircase and stopping me from falling. I eventually made it down the stairs and into the kitchen. Morelli had his back to me and was getting a bottle of beer from the fridge. He turned to look at me as I sat down at the table.

"Hey Mary Lou, I didn't know you were here." Mary Lou smiled and glanced nervously over at me.

"Do you want a beer?" He asked us, offering us each a bottle. I shook my head as Mary Lou took the bottle. Joe sat opposite us, looking worried

"Steph are you ok? You look really pale." He asked. I nodded and opened my mouth to speak. My throat was so dry; it felt like I'd just swallowed a bucket of sand. Mary Lou still had my hand in a death grip and was looking at me encouragingly. I took a deep breath and looked at Joe intently. His gorgeous chocolate brown eyes were full of concern.

"Ok" I sighed "There is no easy way to tell you this..." I started. Joe looked like he'd just received an electric shock.

"Oh my God, you're pregnant!" He exclaimed, smiling. Mary Lou and I stared at him in absolute shock.

"What the...? How did you know?!" I exclaimed. The smile slipped off his face.

"I...I didn't, I was just joking!" He looked panic-stricken "You're being serious aren't you?" He asked. I nodded and smiled apologetically. He jumped out of his chair and ran over to my side. He lifted me out of my chair and embraced me lovingly. I felt tears filling my eyes. I didn't know what I was crying about, it was a mix of relief, happiness and fear. I heard Mary Lou stand up behind me.

"I think on that note, I'll be going" She announced and walked out the door, before I could even thank her. I smiled and snuggled into Joe. After a while, he pushed me back gently to look at me.

"We're going to have a baby" He grinned broadly. I couldn't help laughing. He looked ecstatic. I realised that this was what Joe had wanted for a long time. I remembered him saying to Grandma Bella that it would be nice to have a child.

"Yeah, we're going to have a baby." I grinned.

"You've got to make a doctor's appointment, to check that everything's ok. We have to tell our families!" He exclaimed. A new fear dawned on me.

"Shit, the families. I completely forgot about them. Who should we tell first?" I panicked. Joe looked equally scared by this prospect.

"Oh shit, yeah. Whoever we tell last will never forgive us! We could tell them together..." He suggested. I considered this.

"We could, but the thought of Grandma Mazur and Grandma Bella in the same room terrifies me." I thought out loud.

"Yeah, same. It makes my blood run cold. But at the same time, we don't really have a choice." He pointed out. God help me, he was right. I nodded.

"Are you working late tomorrow?" I asked. Joe looked shocked

"No I'm not. You want to tell them tomorrow?" I shrugged in response.

"Sooner the better. The longer we keep it from them, the scarier they'll be when we eventually tell them. Plus, it's not really something we can keep a secret for long." He nodded "But I don't think we should tell anyone else until we tell the family." I added quickly. Joe nodded again.

"Mary Lou won't tell anyone, will she?" He asked. I shook my head. He kissed my lightly on the lips. "Come on, let's get up to bed."

I woke up the next day to the sound of the shower. I wondered into the bathroom to find Joe in a wet state of nudity. He looked up and grinned.

"Wanna join me?" He asked. I smiled and shook my head.

"I need to call the parents soon, to invite them over tonight. You should do the same." He nodded and shut off the water. I padded down stairs and picked up the phone. I took a deep breath and dialled my parents house and waited for them to pick up.

"Hello?" My mother answered.

"Hi Mom, its Stephanie. Me and Joe were wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner tonight. Joe's family are coming over as well. We wanted you, Dad and Grandma wanted to come over." I garbled. I heard my mum sigh

"What have you done? You wouldn't be inviting us over unless you'd done something!" She asked accusingly. I sighed.

"I haven't done anything Mom, are you going to come over?"  
"Yes of course, I'll bring desert, I know how you hate to cook." I hung up and called up to Joe.

"My parents are coming and they're bringing desert."

"Ok" He called back "I'll ask mine to bring the main course!"

I walked into the office an hour later and flopped onto the couch. Connie and Lula looked up at me. Lula grinned broadly.

"Hey girlfriend, you are glowing this morning. D'you get lucky with Morelli last night?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow. I smiled and shrugged.

"In a way..." The door open and Ranger walked in. I looked at him in shock. He looked almost as shocked as I did. We hadn't seen each other for about a month. It was strange to see him again. I smiled weakly. He gave me a nod of acknowledgement, then blanked me and turned to the desk. Connie handed him a pile of FTA files. He flicked through them, nodded and walked out without saying a word. I jumped up and ran out after him. He was unlocking his black BMW when I walked out the office.

"Ranger!" I called out. He stopped and turned to look at me. His face was emotionless, clouded over.

"Ranger, I'm sorry I just left that morning. I never meant to hurt you I swear, everything just got...weird after Junkman and everything. I'm just really sorry and I want us to be friends again, if that's ok. I've really missed you." I could feel tears filling up in my eyes. Dammit I had zero control over my emotions these days! Ranger sighed and stared into my eyes. The tears were now rolling down my face; I was powerless to stop them. He walked over and wrapped his eyes around me. I smiled and threw my arms around his shoulders, resulting in my feet leaving the ground by a few centimetres. He put me down on the side walk and looked at me again.

"I've been acting like a real jerk the past few weeks. I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. I never meant to hurt you ether." He touched my cheek affectionately, turned and got in the car.

"See you later babe." He called and then he was gone. I walked back in the office to find Lula and Connie both grinning at me like Cheshire Cats.

"What?" I asked, knowing well what they were grinning at.

"Dang girl, that man is so hot he's practically on fire!" Lula exclaimed. I laughed and walked up to the desk.

"Ok, who've you got for me today?" Connie thumbed through a few of the files.

"Depends, are you feeling up to anything particularly strenuous?" She asked. I considered this for a few moments.

"How strenuous do you mean?" I replied. Connie handed me three files. I flicked through them, carefully reading the details. First was Harry Terrace, wanted for theft. Harry had been in Joe's year at High School and had been sort of friends with my sister, Valerie. He'd had a tough day at work, gone to the shop to get some alcohol, realised he hadn't got enough money and tried to walk out the shop with three bottles of vodka, two bottles of wine and four bottles of whisky. He'd been stopped and the shop keeper had been adamant about pressing charges. He would either be at work, pretending this wasn't happening or at home, pretending this wasn't happening. Easy. The second was Gregory York, arrested for indecent exposure. I'd never met Gregory before and this was his first offence. He seemed like a reasonable guy, he'd just got drunk after an argument with his girlfriend, gone out and tried to take a stripper home with him. As a weird kind of revenge, he'd got up on the podium with her and shown the club a little bit more then they'd wanted to see. The manager had been outraged and called the police. Gregory had been dragged away by the police in all his naked glory. He was unemployed and lived with his Grandmother. She had put the house up as bond and he seemed like a reliable grandson. He'd be at home, making his Grandmother a cup of tea. The last on the list was Alice Harrison. She was arrested for assault after an argument with her ex-boyfriend. She'd gone to his apartment to collect the rest of her things, only to find him in the bedroom trying on her Victoria's Secret underwear. Things had got nasty and Alice had left three beautiful nail marks down his face. She worked at a hair and nail bar in the mall. She desperately needed money and it was doubtful that she'd have missed a day off work for a tiny thing like a court date. I walked out to my car and threw the files onto the seat next to me. I decided to go after Harry first, hoping I'd be able to play the friendship card and guilt trip him into coming with me. I phoned his work and was informed that Harry had called in sick. I drove over to his house, which was about a block away from his work. That's dedication. The curtains were all drawn. It was a good thing he didn't live in the burg, drawn curtains at this time of day would have started all sorts of rumours. I parked and walked to the front door. I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. How perfect. I knocked on the door. It was opened seconds later. Harry was stood in the doorway, wearing a scrappy old dressing gown and looking hung-over and half dead. He stared at me for a few seconds before recognition kicked in.

"Oh shit..." He muttered before taking off through the house.

"Hey!" I shouted and started off after him. He was pushing over lamps and tables in his wake as he made his way to the back door. I finally caught up with him as he made his way through the back yard. He slipped on a patch of grass and went over onto his back. I skidded to the floor next to him and cuffed him before he could get up. I felt a moment of pride before I realised that there was no one with me to witness my momentous capture. I pulled him up to his feet and dragged him back through the house.

As we drove to the police station, I glanced in the rear view mirror and noticed tears pouring down Harry's face.

"Oh for crissake..." I muttered. I did not need a sobbing FTA in the back of my car.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. I hated it when they started crying. It made me feel like the bad guy. He sniffed and looked at me via the rear view mirror.

"I'm going to jail. I'll never be let out; they'll throw away the key. I'll never be allowed to see my kids again!" He burst out crying. I raised an eyebrow.

"Nice try Harry. I know you don't have kids." The tears suddenly stopped and he glared menacingly at me. The rest of the drive was silent, with Harry sat, sulking like a moody teenager. I pulled up outside the station and got out the car. I opened Harry's door for him, but he just sat sulking.

"If you keep glaring like that then you're going to need botox." I informed him. That just made him glare some more. I stood back and sighed. I hated it when they were difficult. Just then, Carl Constanza walked past. He grinned broadly at me.

"I don't know what the hell you did to Morelli last night, but he's been smiling like a mindless idiot all day!" He announced. I laughed and smiled back.

"Carl, could you give me a hand with this FTA? He's being very difficult" I asked, trying to look as sweet as possible. Carl did a huge fake sigh then walked up to the car. He took a look in side and laughed.

"Hey there Harry. Looking good. I hope for the sake of Steph's car that that's mud up your leg." He reached in and grasped the top of Harry's arm and pulled him out of the car. We walked into the station and handed Harry in.

I was walking back out to my car with my body receipt, when I saw Morelli. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey cupcake. I talked to my mother; her and Grandma Bella will be over at about quarter to six. She's bringing a lasagne." He dropped a light kiss on my forehead and said "I've got to go, bad guys to catch, paperwork to attack, doughnuts to eat y'know the usual. I'll see you later." He promised and walked down the corridor, out of sight.

Next on my most wanted list was Gregory York. Strangely he wasn't at home. I knocked on the front door and the back door. I looked through windows and looked for a non-illegal way to get in. Nothing. There was no one in. As I walked back to the car, the front door on a house across the street opened. A middle aged woman looked out at me.

"Are you looking for Gregory?" She hollered. I nodded

"Do you know where he is?"

"Sure, I know everything that happens on this street. His Grandma had a stroke last night. He'll be with her at the hospital."  
"Ok, thank you!" I called back. The woman nodded and retreated back into her house. I jumped in the car and drove to the nearest hospital. I checked at reception and sure enough, Grandma York had been admitted. I ran up the stairs to the ward where she was being treated. I could see the little old woman lying asleep on the bed with the young man I recognized as Gregory sat by the side of the bed. I couldn't apprehend someone in this situation. I sighed and turned to go when the door to the ward opened and Gregory walked out.

"Hi, were you looking for me? You're that bounty hunter aren't you?" He asked. I nodded in response. I couldn't apprehend someone who was looking after his ill grandmother.

"Yeah I am. You missed your court date." I said. Even as I said it, I felt like the lowest form of being.

"I know, I should have called or something. I just couldn't leave her..." His voice broke. I nodded and patted his arm.

"Just call in when you get a free moment and please turn yourself in when everything's sorted out. I don't want to have to come after you again. I hope your Grandma gets better." I said sincerely. I turned and walked back down the stairs and out to the car, feeling like my good deed for the day was done. I glanced down at my watch and saw it was already two o clock. I drove to the nearest MacDonald's to get lunch then set off to the mall in search of Alice.

'Hawaiian Hair' was a small but popular beauty salon. I walked in and approached the receptionist. She looked up and smiled broadly.

"Aloha and welcome to Hawaiian Hair!" She chimed her mantra. I smiled back.

"Hi, is Alice Harrison in?" I asked pleasantly. The woman looked through the day plan and nodded.

"Yeah, but she's with a client right now. Would you like to book an appointment?" I grimaced. The nail and hair salons in Trenton were the gossip headquarters. If I apprehended someone in a hair salon, I would never hear the end of it.

"This is a bit difficult but she's missed her court date. I'm a bounty hunter and I need to take her to the police station to reschedule." I explained, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. The receptionist stared at me with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Oh I see." She whispered "Is this about the thing with her boyfriend? Because he was a real dickhead. He deserved everything he got." She whispered

"I just need to talk to her." I replied. The receptionist nodded.

"She's through that doorway. Go straight in." I thanked her and walked through the doorway. Alice was sat facing the doorway, manicuring an elderly woman's nails. I cleared me throat and they both looked up at me. I recognized the old woman instantly. Grandma Mazur. Oh shit. I groaned inwardly, then smiled falsely. Alice seemed to know why I was there.

"There is no fucking way that I'm going to jail." She stated. I sighed.

"Alice, please don't make this difficult for us!" I pleaded. Grandma Mazur looked up with excitement.

"Are you apprehending her? You should have said something, I'd have helped. I could have been your inside person, like a mole or something." I smiled.

"I appreciate the offer but I usually work alone. I'll keep it in mind though." I promised. Alice was now on her feet and walking towards the doorway. I stepped in her way and tried to look intimidating. With one hand, I reached for my cuffs which were attached to the back loop of my jeans. As she got closer, I took the cuffs in one hand and attempted to get them onto her wrist. She pulled a sharp metal nail file out of her back pocket and pointed it at me. I instinctively took a step back and realised I'd left my stun gun and pepper spray in the car. Alice lunged at me, shouting and cursing. Fortunately, I'd been in this kind of situation before and Alice was just pissed off. As she lunged again, I stepped to the side and stuck my foot out. She went flying across the polished floor of the salon. I ran over to her and pulled her to her feet. There was a gash across her arm where the nail file had ht it. I had no sympathy for her, the woman was psychotic. I cuffed her and dragged her out the salon. She was flailing and scratching and cursing at the top of her voice. Everyone in the mall was staring in shock at us.

"Just stop it, you're making a scene!" I shouted at her.

"Damn fucking right I'm making a scene! You stupid fucking bitch, let go of me!" She shrieked back. I pushed her into the back of the car and locked the back door. I climbed in the drivers seat and sighed.

"What kind of a woman are you? Whatever happened to girl power?" She screamed. I rolled out of the lot and set off towards the police station. The second I opened the back door at the police station, Alice started kicking out and screaming. I looked around, hoping to see Constanza or any other policeman I knew to help me but no such luck. I growled and tried to pull Alice out of the car.

"Just co-operate, it'll be so much easier for the both of us if you just co-operate. Please, I am asking you nicely. I have too much else on my mind right now. Just get your ass out of the car NOW!" I screamed. Alice stopped flailing in shock, giving me the chance to grab her and wrench her out the car. I pulled her into the station by her arm and handed her over to the docket lieutenant. I collected my second body receipt for the day and set of to the office to collect my money.

After settling up with Connie, I got back in the car and headed home. It was already five thirty. The day seemed to have flown past. As I approached the house, I saw my parents' car and Mrs Morelli's car parked outside. I felt a sense of dread in the bottom of my stomach. I parked the car and approached the front door. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it's much appreciated. Oh, and to answer some questions...:

zoeykitty: You'll just have to wait to find out, this chapter may have given a few more clues!!!

Cecilia-Black: I think I'm a bit of a fan of both, though Morelli is more secure. Ranger is just more mysterious and cool!!!!

Everyone feel free to review and give suggestions etc! Arigato!!


	3. Carmella

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.

The second I stepped into the house, I was hit with the smell of Lasagne and pineapple upside down pudding. Everyone was sat in the lounge. My dad and Joe were fixedly watching a baseball game on the television, my mom was chatting with Mrs Morelli and Grandma Mazur was talking to Grandma Bella about guns and various weaponry. They all looked up as I walked in. My mother and Joe stood up to greet me; my father didn't take his eyes off the game. Grandma Bella and Mrs Morelli smiled at me.

"Hello Stephanie dear, how are you?" Joe's mother

"I'm fine thank you Mrs Morelli, how are you?" The civil conversation continued till six o clock, when dinner was expected. We were all eating, when I caught Joe's eye and he nodded. I took in a deep breath.

"Mom, could you pass the salt? Oh and by the way, I'm pregnant." I added, trying to sound subtle. Everyone's knives and forks clattered to table and I was very aware of people staring at me, except Joe who was shaking with silent laughter. I didn't think it was slightly amusing.

"What?" My mother squeaked.

"Could you pass the salt?" I repeated, avoiding the obvious answer.

"You're pregnant?" She whispered. My father shrugged and continued eating. Grandma Bella was frowning slightly. Joe sighed and looked at her.

"What? Why are you frowning?" Bella averted her attention to Joe.

"You are going to marry her?" It sounded more like a statement then a question. Me and Joe exchanged nervous looks.

"Ummm…" I muttered. Everyone gasped.

"You're not getting married?!" Joe's mother shrieked. My mother simply looked resigned. Another daughter having a child out of wedlock.

"That is disgraceful; she can't raise a child alone! She's not capable!" Grandma Bella stated

"Excuse me? Not capable, I don't think-" I started, but was silenced by Joe clapping a hand over my mouth. Bella glared at me.

"I don't like the way you're talking to my granddaughter. She will make an excellent mother, she doesn't need your grandson!" Grandma Mazur hissed at Bella. My mother exchanged a nervous glance with Mrs Morelli, who promptly stood up.

"Well, look at the time. Come on Bella, we should be going now." My mom nodded and stood up. My father and Grandma followed suit. Mrs Morelli bid my parents goodbye, kissed me lightly on the cheek and went to hug Joe. I heard her whisper "We will talk about his later" and guide Grandma Bella out of the door. My Father gave me a hug and my mother bid us congratulations. Grandma Mazur was still muttering about Bella's comments as she walked out the door. I collapsed back into my chair and pulled the pineapple upside down cake towards me and picked up a spoon. Joe looked longingly at the pudding.

"Don't even think about it Morelli, I deserve this pudding, it's mine. Plus I'm eating for two now."

I padded downstairs the next morning and found Joe eating lasagne left-overs. I sat down opposite him and grabbed his mug of freshly made coffee.

"Last night didn't go too badly" Joe said slowly. I raised an eyebrow

"Ok, it was pretty bad, but it could have been worse." He stated honestly. I smiled

"So, can we tell friends now?" I asked. Joe shrugged

"Sure, why not? I have to go now, I'll see you later. Take it easy and try to make a doctors appointment." He was out the door before I could say anything else. I got dressed, but didn't leave the house straight away like usual. Everything had been going to fast lately, I needed to slow down. After about ten minutes, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered

"Why haven't you checked in yet? This isn't like you!" Connie shouted

"I'll be in soon, are there lots of FTA's?" I asked, wondering why I was so desperately needed.

"Well…no, but Ranger's here and he wants to talk to you."

"Ok, give me five minutes." I hung up and spent the drive to the office wondering why Ranger would want to talk to me. I guess we had a lot of catching up to do having not spoken in a month. I pulled up outside the office and instantly recognized a new black Porsche that had to belong to Ranger. I could see him through the window, slouched on the sofa. As I got out of the car, I heard the office door open and sensed Ranger behind me. I turned and faced him. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach when I saw him. He looked good, I wasn't about to deny that, but at the same time he looked tired and almost worried. I could smell his distinct Bulgari fragrance. He almost smiled at me.

"You look tired." I smiled sympathetically.

"I've been working late the past few weeks." He explained. I stared at him. Something wasn't right, he didn't look like himself.

"Is that all?" I asked, wanting to know what was wrong.

"Family problems" he briefly answered. I thought about this for a few seconds. I couldn't imagine Ranger having family problems; actually I couldn't imagine Ranger having a family. It didn't seem right that he was human born! I was suddenly aware that I'd been staring at Ranger.

"I wanted to talk to you." He suddenly announced. I nodded

"Yeah, Connie said." I answered. Ranger took a deep breath. I was surprised; I couldn't imagine what was so important.

"It's about…us. I know that you're living with Morelli and I don't want to interfere with that, it's just that I'm…confused. Why did you just leave like that? Was it something I did, or do you just want to be with Joe?" I didn't know what to say.

"You didn't do anything. I just…I don't know. I just have to feel…"

"Settled?" Ranger suggested. I nodded.

"I don't think you can create the settled life I need. I do love you but…there's something you need to know. Maybe it'll help you. I'm pregnant and I'm going to keep the baby." Ranger stared at me in shock. I willed him to say something, but he didn't. He simply nodded, got into his car and drove away. I stood and stared at the space where he'd been just seconds ago. I felt like the cruellest, most heartless person ever. I stumbled into the office and collapsed on the couch. Ranger's scent still lingered. Lula and Connie were staring at me, mouths open.

"What did you say to him? I have never seen him look like that before." Connie asked. I sighed and looked up at them

"I'm pregnant." I said simply. What else could I say? It was the easiest way to tell them. Vinnie's office door flew open.

"You're pregnant?" he exclaimed. I looked up at him and nodded. His trouser zip was undone and I could see Joyce Barnhardt in the office tugging her shoes back on.

"Dammit, how did you hear that? If you've bugged this office again, I swear I'll take the bug and ram it up your-" Connie shouted, whilst frantically turning over the desk accessories. Lula smiled broadly.

"Damn girl, I had no idea! Congratulations! Hey, can I be godmother?" she asked. I opened my mouth to respond, when Joyce sashayed out of the office and joined us.

"So, you're knocked up then, I take it it's Morelli's kid? I give it two weeks before gets bored with the baby and kicks you out." She smiled vindictively. Everyone stared at her in shock.

"What?" she asked indignantly.

"I think you should go now." Vinnie said, glaring. We all stared at him in shock. Joyce looked like she was about to reply, but instead she glared and stormed out. We turned our gaze to Vinnie.

"What, so I can't defend my family? Geez, you have a low opinion of me!" He turned and walked back into his office, locking the door behind him. I smiled and relaxed back on the sofa. Connie bustled over and fluffed up the cushion I was resting on.

"Connie, I'm ok. I just need to take it easy." Connie nodded

"So do you not want to do pick ups anymore? You could always share with Ranger, he could do the tough ones and you could do the ones we know to be more passive." I nodded and took the mug of coffee Lula had just handed me.

I spent the next few hours being pampered and waited on hand and foot. There were no FTA's for me to attend to, so I simply sat and chatted. The office front door swung open and Grandma Bella walked in. I gulped and tried to scuttle out of sight, but was to slow. She beckoned to me with a finger. I cleared my throat.

"I'd rather stay here if it's all the same to you. Where there are witnesses." I squeaked. She smiled humourlessly and sat on the sofa.

"I have spoken with Joseph. He has informed me that you hadn't even talked about marriage. You know what my opinion on this situation is. It may be different to your Grandmother's, but she is rather more…eccentric then I am. I suppose if you are adamant not to marry, then there is nothing I can do to sway your decision. I just ask that you give marriage serious consideration. That is all I have to say." She rose and walked towards the door. She paused at the exit before turning and calling;

"Oh and Vincent, I heard a repulsive rumour about you and a duck. I hope, for your sake, that they are not true." And with that she was gone. Vinnie stuck his head around the door.

"Jesus, that woman scare the shit out of me." He murmured before retreating back into the office. I sat back on the couch and started to flip through one of Connie's magazines. I heard the front door open again. I looked up from fear of it being Grandma Bella back again. Instead, it was a girl, pulling a large pink suitcase behind her. She looked about 15 and was stunningly pretty. She had mocha coloured skin, dark brown hair and large brown eyes. Her figure was to die for and was shown of by khaki mini skirt and a white tank top. It was sad to admit, but I was jealous of a 15 year old. She approached the desk and smiled at Connie.

"Does Ricardo Mañoso work here?" She asked pleasantly. Connie stared at her for a few seconds. The girl looked confused.

"Um, you might know him as Ranger, I don't-" Connie suddenly nodded

"Yes, he works here. Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked in her professional mode.

"I really need to talk to him, it's very urgent. Will he be in today?" Her voice had a slightly Spanish accent but it wasn't particularly prominent. Connie shrugged.

"It's hard to say with Ranger. Would you like me to call him?" The girl nodded

"Yea please, I'd appreciate it." Connie tapped Ranger's number into the phone, then quickly covered the mouthpiece.

"Can I take your name?"" She asked. The girl looked slightly unnerved by this.

"I'd rather not give my name; just tell him to get here. He will come." She sounded so sure of herself. Connie looked slightly taken about, but uncovered the mouthpiece of the phone and waited for an answer.

"Hey Ranger, it's Connie…yeah, you need to come in…there's someone here to see you…girl…no, she won't give a name…hey it's really not my business…yeah she's still here…just get here ok?" Connie replaced the phone and looked up.

"He says he'll be here as soon as possible. If you'd like to take a seat…" Connie indicated to the couch. The girl nodded and settled down next to me. I smiled politely. She looked at me critically, then smiled briefly. Vinnie's office door opened again and he walked out and threw a file on Connie's desk.

"Sort through these" he grunted

"A please would get you far." Connie muttered. Vinnie glared and turned to go back into his office before noticing our guest. He looked from her to Connie and back again.

"Who's this?" He asked me. I stared at him.

"Um Vinnie, why don't you ask her? It's kind of rude to just ignore her." I whispered. Vinnie nodded

"Fine, who are you?" He asked as the door swung open and Ranger walked in. The girl leapt up and ran over to Ranger. He stared at her in shock then grinned as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Carmella, what are you doing here?" he asked as he swung her around. She grinned up at him.

"What does it look like? I've come to see my dad!"

Thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming!!! Hope you like this chapter and I'll try to update soon. Arigato!


	4. Getting to know you

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.**

I felt my mouth drop in shock. Did she seriously mean that Ranger was her dad? She was Ranger's daughter?! But two years ago, Ranger told me she was nine.

"Excuse me, but just how many daughters do you have?" I asked. Ranger turned to me with a bemused expression. Carmella grinned.

"There's just me, to my knowledge" She smiled. Ranger nodded.

"Yeah, just Carmella." He smiled and embraced his daughter again. Now I was seriously confused!

"Ok, not wanting to put a damper on this, but a couple of years ago, you told me your daughter was nine, so she could only be…eleven or twelve. Carmella looks to old!" I smiled, hoping I made sense. Carmella struggled out of Ranger's grip and glared at him.

"Nine? You told her I was nine? I am fifteen!" She punched him in the shoulder. He winced and looked apologetic.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I was on the spot and I just remembered that…that the last time I saw you, you were…nine." He coughed, almost embarrassed.

"I know, six years. Impressive, huh?" Carmella crossed her arms indignantly.

"I phoned every week and I sent you money each month." He protested. Carmela sighed

"It's ok; I know things weren't easy between you and Madre. Anyway, I was scared if you came to see me, you'd bring your dominatrix girlfriend. I hated her. I take it you've ditched her." She said, more of a question then a statement. Ranger smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, she's history. And I am really sorry about that, it was my fault."

"No, it wasn't. You couldn't have known she was an evil bitch." Ranger laughed slightly and Carmella beamed at him. He glanced at his watch, then up at Carmella. She sighed.

"Go. Go do whatever it is you have to do, I'll wait here. That is, if no one minds." She looked around nervously. Vinnie shook his head.

"No, feel free to stay."

"Ok, I'll see you later." He forked some money out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Get yourself something to eat and don't be a pain." He instructed

"Am I ever?" She smiled sweetly. He planted a light kiss on her cheek and walked out the office. She flopped back down on the sofa next to me and smiled politely. This was very unexpected.

Carmella was really making an impression. She was smart, funny and quick-witted. She helped Lula with the filing (and by helped I mean she did the filing for Lula) and was chatting with Connie and I about her past.

"I've always lived with my Madre and I've never questioned it. She's always told me that my father is married to his work and will never have time for me. That's that. When he came to see me when I was nine I was so happy, but he'd brought this skanky girlfriend with him. I didn't like her at all. Then, when dad was babysitting, he got a call and had to go out so he left his girlfriend in charge. She was horrible. She tried to make me go to bed but I explained it wasn't my bedtime and that dad had given me permission to stay up and watch some program on TV. Then she got really mad at me and started yelling. I was crying and she was yelling at me to stop, then she grabbed my teddy and threw out the window. I was screaming at her and she just lost it and hit me across the face. Unfortunately for her, dad walked in at that moment. He was so mad and he told her to go back home and said they'd talk when he got back. He just apologized and left. And I haven't seen him since, until now of course." I was shocked and at the same time, I was trying to work out who this girlfriend could have been. Connie patted her on the shoulder and handed her a doughnut.

"So how come you came up here now? Shouldn't you be in school?" Connie asked, as Carmella flicked powdered sugar off her top. She stopped flicking and looked up, obviously searching for an appropriate answer. After a while she sighed and looked down at the floor.

"I had an argument with my mom. She's got this new boyfriend who sort of used to be my boyfriend. He's 20. I know that seems old but I'm mature for my age and…well he's immature for his. I think she's been using my child support money from dad to pay for new stuff for him, because I haven't seen a single cent of it. I confronted her about it and she went mad, started calling me all manners of obscenities. So I just left. I've been living in Cuba for the past two months and no one's tried to find me. I've been staying with family over there. Then I just decided to come and see dad. You can't tell dad any of that, he'd go mental." We all nodded and considered everything we'd just learned about Ranger's child. She wasn't the princess I'd imagined her to be, or as spoilt as she'd first come across as being. I almost felt sorry for her, but I knew she didn't want pity. She just wanted to see her father. The door swung open, waking us all up from our thoughts. I looked up and smiled when I saw Morelli.

"Hey Cupcake." He smiled.

"Hi sugar lips!" Carmella chimed back. Connie and Lula suppressed giggles. Joe looked at her in surprise and amusement. She grinned back. I rolled my eyes and stood up to greet him. He dropped a kiss on my lips and grinned.

"So, who's this then?" he asked, looking over at Carmella. She stood up and shook his hand politely.

"Hi, I'm Carmella Mañoso. Nice to meet you." She fluttered her eyelids. Joe raised an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet you Carmella. I'm Joe Morelli."

"Hi Joe Morelli." She beamed. Joe turned to me.

"I want to take you out to lunch." He stated. I glanced at the wall clock.

"It's three o clock." I pointed out. Joe shrugged.

"So?" I shrugged, picked up my handbag and followed him out the door.

We walked down the street and into Pino's. After settling in a table and ordering our drinks, Joe slouched back and examined me.

"So, Carmella Mañoso. When did she appear?" He asked.

"Earlier today, she arrived at the office." I replied and graciously took my pizza from the waitress. Joe did the same, then went back looking at me.

"I don't suppose that it's just coincidence she's got the same surname as Ranger." He said, statement not a question. I shook me head and took a bite of my pizza.

"She's Ranger's daughter." I told him. Joe stopped eating and stared at me.

"No way! She looks about 18!" He exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow.

"She's 15. Do you really think she looks that much older?" Joe shrugged.

"Sure. You can tell the kid's Ranger's. She's very…cocky. In a nice way." He explained. I nodded, it almost made sense.

"She seems nice enough. I just wonder if Ranger will know how to cope with a teenage daughter all of a sudden." Joe shrugged again.

"It's his problem, let him deal with it. Don't get involved."

I walked back into the office an hour or so later. Carmella was sat on the couch reading a book and Lula and Connie were pretending to work. They all looked up and smiled when I walked in. I snatched a doughnut off the desk and settled on the couch next to Carmella. She smiled and shuffled up to give me more room. The door swung open and we all gawped in amazement at the person who walked in. She smiled icily at us. Jeanne Ellen Burrows. I glanced over at Carmella, who was glaring angrily and Jeanne Ellen.

"Um…what can we do for you?" Connie asked, in a less then official manner. Jeanne Ellen blinked, then smiled.

"I need to speak to Ranger. Is he about?" she asked, sounding more demanding then polite. Carmella stood up and walked up to Jeanne Ellen. She gave her a slight shove, causing us all to gasp.

"You've got no business with Ranger. You're no longer a part of his life so why don't you just piss off forever." Carmella hissed. Jeanne Ellen glared.

"And who are you? His new bitch?" She sneered. Carmella glared.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me Jeanne, I certainly remember you. It must have been...six years now." Jeanne stared blankly at her.  
"Still don't remember? Well let me refresh your memory." Then Carmella hit her around the face. We all gasped and jumped to our feet, Lula had her stun gun and Connie had her pepper spray, in case it looked like Jeanne was about to attack Carmella.

"Carmella!" A voice shouted from the doorway. We all spun and saw Ranger stood in the doorway. Jeanne Ellen's mouth dropped open.

"Carmella?" She whispered. Carmella smiled coldly.

"Surprised to see me? I'm not shocked. You've probably forgotten all about what you did to me." She said vindictively. Jeanne glared at her as Ranger tried to suppress smile. Jeanne looked over at Ranger, obviously looking for some support. He simply shrugged and motioned towards the door.

"I think you should go Jeanne, whatever you want you can sort out on you own." He stepped out of her way as she stormed past him and out of the office. He shut the door behind her and sighed. Carmella smiled at him.

"Thanks for sticking up for me there dad." Ranger looked surprised

"Of course I'd stick up for you, you're my daughter." He stated. Carmella grinned and nodded. Ranger draped an arm over her shoulder and beamed down at her. It was a strange sight. The office door opened again and we all turned to see it. Surprisingly, it was Tank.

"This is unbelievable" Connie muttered "That door has opened countless times today, and yet we've had no business!" I smiled and looked over at Tank. He nodded politely and then turned his attention to Carmella.

"Hey sweetie, long time no see!" He grinned and embraced Carmella, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Ranger was smiling happily at his daughter.

"Hi Tank, it's been ages! About…three or four years!" She exclaimed. Tank nodded happily. I looked at Ranger quizzically. He looked back, face expressionless.

"Tank has family in Miami, he checks on Carmella for me when he goes down." He explained, avoiding eye contact with me. I nodded and stepped closer to Ranger, willing him to look at me. Still nothing. I gave an inward groan of exasperation. Just when I thought I'd actually patched things up with him, he was blanking me again. Carmella was chattering fast in Spanish. Tank was nodding and laughing along with her. Ranger turned his attention back to them and said something to her in Spanish. I was feeling extremely left out. Carmella laughed, then turned to us.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, I had a great time. Well, as great a time as you can have sat in an office. I hope to see you all again soon. Goodbye Vinnie!" She called. There was a strangled groan that sounded slightly like 'Goodbye' from Vinnie's office. Carmella grinned "Adios amigos!" She giggled and walked out of the office, with Ranger and Tank following her. We all stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Well…she was nice." Lula finally said. We all nodded.

"Yeah, we should employ her. She does a better job of the filing then you." Connie muttered

"Humph, are you saying I can't file as well as a 15 year old?" Lula asked.

"Yeah, that is what I'm saying." Connie didn't even look up from filing her nails. I decided to take the opportunity to slip unnoticed from the office.

I sat in my car and wondered where to go. My parents would be serving dinner in about an hour. Morelli would be home in about half an hour. I couldn't really go to my parents for tea without Joe after our little announcement. So I'd go home, get Joe and then go to my parents. I was starting to feel sorry for myself. I was in my thirties and still going for dinner at my parents. I parked the car in the drive and walked into the house. Bob came rushing out and almost ran me down. I quickly side stepped him and walked into the house. I'd just got changed when I heard the front door open and Morelli walked in. I glanced at my watch, ten to six. Time to leave. I ran downstairs in my floaty skirt and stretchy white top. Joe had time to look up and smile before I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back out the door. After briefly closing to shut the door, we climbed into Jo's truck.

"Why are we in such a rush?" Joe asked as we rolled down the street.

"Dinner starts at six, you know that. If we are late it will be my entire fault and my mother will get stressed and start ironing. And the pot roast will have gone dry." I explained in an exasperated tone. Some people just never learn.

We parked outside the house and climbed onto the pavement. My mother and grandmother were waiting for us at the door as usual. Everything was always the same, you could count on it. Until now of course.

Dinner was as expected; everyone spoke of nothing but pregnancies and babies. Valerie kept making me hold Lisa so I could get used to it. After two hours, I finally made a bid for freedom with Joe in tow. He was more then happy to leave as everyone was asking him just when he was thinking of proposing and Albert Kloughn was desperately trying to pass on his 'knowledge' of parenthood and preparing for marriage to Joe. I'd managed to scave a bag of leftovers for future meals (i.e. breakfast tomorrow).

It wasn't until we were lying in bed later that Joe said anything about what had happened at dinner.

"It didn't freak you out did it?" He suddenly asked. I turned on my side to look at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, guessing what was coming.

"All that talk about marriage at dinner tonight, did it scare you?" Yep, I knew it.

"It didn't scare me because…well, we're not getting married are we. I'm pregnant but that's all. We'll work things out on the way." I explained and rolled back at closed my eyes. I'm pregnant, I thought, but that's all. That is all. We'll work things out on the way. Together. I was never going to be alone again.

Thank you very much to everyone who's reviewed, I love reading them all!!! I'm glad you like it so far. Please keep all the reviews coming, I really appreciate them. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I am more then happy to hear them! Hope you like this chapter and I will try to update soon. Arigato!


	5. Tattoo Head

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.**

I didn't see Ranger or Carmella again for two weeks. By this time, I'd been to the doctor's. It was confirmed, I was pregnant. I even had a due date. In eight months I was going to be a mother. A mom. Mary Lou was probably more excited then I was. She finally had someone to give all her old baby things to and someone to pass advice onto. Her and Valerie kept getting together and organising various baby related events. The morning sickness was very irritating but I was assured that it would wear off. I wasn't getting any distinctive cravings, apart from the fact that I frequently found myself want Tastycakes, but then that was normal.

I was sat in the office, just looking through the stack of new FTA's and trying to think of an excuse to avoid going out on a bust (the 'I'm in a fragile state' one was getting a bit old, though technically still had eight months of use) when the door swung open and Ranger walked in with Carmella in tow. I looked up and smiled. Ranger gave me the briefest of nods, whereas Carmella grinned broadly and waved frantically.

"Hey Stephie!" She greeted enthusiastically "How's the lil bebé?" she asked. I looked at her in surprise, wondering how she knew. I guess Ranger must have told her. I smiled.

"Everything's fine. I've got a due date and everything. In eight months I'm going to be a mother, providing all goes well." Carmella smiled and gave me a quick hug.

"I'm so glad; it's going to be way cool. And I think it's great you're not going to marry the cop, at least for the moment. A modern day woman needs to be independent and keep her options open." She smiled happily and sat down, sending her father a meaningful look. He simply stared back. She sighed.

"Papa is pleased for you as well. He is simply being an arrogant, egotistical ass at the moment; you will have to excuse him." Ranger glared at her but kept his silence. I though Carmella had made an excellent point. I could see Connie and Lula grinning behind the files they had pressed to their noses to stop Ranger from seeing their faces. Ranger stalked over to the desk and picked up a file. He glanced over the top one and looked at Connie.

"I think I can get information on this one, but it's only a $50,000 bond." Only? I thought. He really was being very arrogant. Connie sighed.

"Ok, fine. Stephanie can take it. That is, if you're willing to pass any information you have onto her." She asked. Ranger glared at her. If I had been sent that glare, I'd have been cowering under the desk. Connie, however, came from a family that set it's foundations on dirty looks. Ranger glanced over at Carmella.

"Is it ok if we make a quick stop before we go to the mall?" Carmela shrugged.

"Sure, I guess. Oh, Stephie should come with us!!" I was beginning to wonder where this sudden 'Stephie' had come from, but I was willing to let it slide as Carmella seemed to have good intentions at heart. Ranger was grinding his teeth and looking like he was about to cough up a hairball. Ok, this was really starting to piss me off.

"Ok, that is it. Ranger I need to talk to you outside. Now!" I commanded. Lula and Connie took a deep breath and grinned at each other. Carmela was doing her Cheshire cat smile again. I followed Ranger outside. We were stood in the alley next to the office, to ensure no one in the office could hear or see the conversation that was to follow.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I burst out, surprising myself. Ranger looked stunned and opened his mouth to reply, but I cut in before he could say anything "Carmella is right about you. You are being arrogant and egotistical. Yes I am with Morelli now, but that's never been such a problem before. And yes, I am pregnant, so it would be nice if I could have a bit of support from the people I consider friends. Especially you." I had tears in my eyes now and was struggling to speak between sobs "You have Carmella. I thought that you would understand." The tears were now falling freely down my face. Ranger looked slightly panicked. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me to him. I could smell the Bulgari shower gel that was his scent.

"I know I'm an ass, but things have been difficult for me at the moment, I shouldn't have taken it out on you/ I've just been so stressed lately, with all the court arrangements and everything." He sighed "I'm sorry babe, I am really happy for you." I nodded.

"That's all I wanted to hear. I hate when we're not friends, it's too weird. I'm used to fighting with Joe, but not with you." I processed something he said "Wait, what court arrangements?" I asked. Ranger suddenly went tense.

"I'm applying for full custody of Carmella It's not particularly friendly, her mother is not co-operating. The court is swaying towards my favour because Carmella wants to stay with me. There's also the whole issue of the child support money. It's very confusing. I haven't seen Eva, Carmella's mother, for six years and I am not looking forward to meeting with her again." I held him close.

"You can always talk to me about it and if you ever want a hand with Carmella then you just have to ask." I felt Ranger nod.

"Thanks babe, I appreciate it. Now, let's go get this information on our friend."

Ten minutes later, I was sat in the passenger seat of Ranger's turbo, with Ranger driving and Carmella sat in the back singing along with the radio.

"_Tap on my window, knock on my door…_are we almost there yet? I want to go shopping!" she exclaimed. Ranger pulled into a parking lot and turned the engine off. He swivelled in his seat to look at Carmella.

"You are going to stay in the car, ok? We will be about ten minutes at the most. Just sit here. I'll leave the radio on." He instructed. Carmella glared.

"I do not see why I have to stay in the car. It is just a manky little bar and no one will hurt me if I'm in the presence of two bounty hunters. I think I should come with you." She said indignantly and got out the car. Ranger looked at me.

"I have absolutely no control over her." I smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it. Just give it time." I clambered out of the car and stood next to Carmella while Ranger locked the car.

"Don't give your dad a hard time, he's new to this whole father thing and I know that is partly his fault, but he is trying." I whispered to her. She looked up at me.

"I know" she sighed "but I just don't want to be left in the car like some little baby." I could understand where she was coming from on that one, I'd felt like that many times. Ranger joined us and we walked towards the bar.

"That car doesn't really fit in around here. People are going to think that you're a pimp or something, driving around in a car like that with two lovely ladies following you around." Carmella grinned. I laughed. Ranger raised an eyebrow at her. "You think that you're a lovely lady?" he asked her. Carmella smiled "Hell yeah." We walked in silence for a few minutes, before Carmella asked

"So, who are we after?"

"Simon Pasin, wanted for assault with a deadly weapon." Ranger explained.

"What was the deadly weapon?" Carmella asked.

"A flame thrower." We both glanced at each other in shock and then looked up at Ranger. He half-smiled.

"Some guy accidentally bumped Pasin's car. For some inexplicable reason, Pasin had a flamethrower in the trunk. Things got a bit out of hand and Pasin was arrested for assault." Carmella looked a bit stunned, but recovered quickly. I, on the other hand, was in shock. I hadn't read that part of the file. Ranger opened the door of the bar and we all walked in. The room was dingy and there was hardly any light. The only windows were covered in grime and dirt, making them impossible to see through. I shuddered involuntarily and tried not to touch anything. Carmella wasn't as subtle.

"Ewww! This place is really manky!" She exclaimed. Half the bar turned to look at is and frowned. Ranger shook his head and made his way over to the bar. After a brief conversation with the bartender, he led us over to a small table in the corner where there was a man sat alone. He had a shaved head and a fat beer belly. Tattoos covered his arms and, shockingly, his scalp.

"Ewww!" Carmella whispered again. Ranger had taken a seat opposite the fat tattoo guy while Carmella and I stood next to him, not wanting to risk touching a seat in this place with any part of our anatomy.

"You know Simon Pasin." Ranger said to tattoo-head, statement, not a question. The guy looked at him warily.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. That's my business." Ranger continued to stare at him.

"I need information on where to find him. I believe you have that information." The guy stood slowly and grinned a toothless grin.

"Well, there's gonna be a price on that information." Ranger stood as well to meet his eyes and spoke slowly.

"What kind of price?" The guy grinned again and slapped on of his hands onto Carmella's ass. She yelped and leapt forward. The guy smiled and draped an arm over her shoulder, with his hand resting on her chest.

"This kind of a price." He whispered, his lips brushing across Carmella's neck. In a second, Ranger had flipped the table over and had his gun pointed at the guys head.

"Get your fucking hands off of my daughter." He hissed dangerously. The guy gulped, raised his hands and backed away from Carmella. She shuddered.

"Dude, you stink! You need to have a decent wash or something because you really reek, I mean-" Carmella was cut off by Ranger pulling her to one side. Then he punched the tattoo guy in the face. There was a satisfying 'crunch' noise and Ranger's fist connected with his nose. Tattoo-head moaned and stumbled backwards with blood gushing from his nose.

"Ah dude, that fucking kane's! It's not my fault I misunderstood; I mean you walk in here with two bitches following you, ask about some guy and prices and you drive around in that car that no one except a pimp or a gangster could afford. Anyway look at her, it's easy to mistake her for a 'ho!"

"Hey!" Carmella exclaimed indignantly "I resent that!" We all looked at Carmella's outfit; she didn't really look anything like a hooker. She was to…sophisticated. Black halter-neck top, mid thigh length black skirt, a pair of black Doc. Martin's and she had a black bag draped over her shoulder. She really was the female Ranger. By now, half of the bar had guns out and were pointing them in our direction. A big guy holding a Glock wandered over.

"I don't appreciate you coming in here and beating on my friends." And then he punched Ranger in the stomach, hard. Ranger stumbled back and dropped his gun. The big guy smiled and pointed the gun at Ranger's head. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but before any could do anything, Carmella had whipped a gun out of her bag and was pointing it at the big guy's head. He froze. Ranger was staring in amazement at his daughter, who had assumed the correct shooting stance and was holding the gun perfectly.

"Here is what you're going to do. You're going to put your gun on the floor, slowly, and kick it under the table. Then you are going to turn around and walk away. If you do all of that then maybe I won't blow your fucking brains out." Carmella whispered softly. There was fear in the guy's eyes but he tried to remain cool.

"Oh yeah? And what if I don't?" Carmella raised the gun slightly and shot a hole in the ceiling just above the guy's head. Everyone flinched and ducked as a rain of plaster fell onto his head. The guy instantly dropped the gun and kicked it under the table. He turned and bolted for the door. Carmella dropped the gun back into her bag and smiled.

"Well, shall we go?"

We walked to the car in a stunned silence.

"I told you that you'd look like a pimp." Carmella finally said as she climbed into the car. I smiled and pulled my seatbelt on.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I asked her.  
"Tank and Lester taught me when dad was working." She explained. Ranger smiled.

"I knew those lessons would come in handy, but where the hell did you get the gun from?" he asked. Carmella grinned.

"Tank gave it to me." she said. Ranger suddenly stopped smiling.

"Tank gave you a gun?" he asked. Carmella shrugged.

"Yeah. He said I might need it. And I did. Just let it go." Ranger looked like he was going to say something, but thought better of it. We sank back into silence and Carmella started to sing along with the radio. She had a good singing voice so it wasn't annoying in the slightest. We parked the car right next to the mall and me and Carmella got out and walked towards the door. Carmella suddenly stopped and looked back. Ranger was still in the car. She sighed and walked back to him.

"Get out the car, come on I need some new clothes. Get your ass out the car!" she commanded.

"If Steph is with you then you don't need me to come with you. I'll just give you some money and pick you up later." He reached for his wallet. Carmella pulled the door open and glared.

"You said you would take me shopping and that is what you are going to do. Now out!" she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the car. To be honest, I don't think he was resisting very much but it was still funny to watch. He locked the car and walked to the doors of the mall, muttering under his breath.

"Where are we going first?" he mumbled. Carmella smiled.

"Victoria's Secret." Ranger looked horrified.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and special thanks to LOTRFREAK77. Please keep all the reviews coming and again, if anyone has any suggestions I am always pleased to hear them. Hope you all like this chapter and I will try to update soon. Arigato!


	6. Shopping

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.**

Carmella smiled sweetly and practically skipped into the underwear shop. I could swear I heard Ranger whimper. Perhaps The Wizard wasn't so fearless after all. I smiled and followed Carmella in with Ranger behind me, probably cursing his daughter. I had to hand it to her; the girl knew how to wind people up. She knew which buttons to press and could turn from bubbly fifteen year old to fearless killer in a heartbeat. I already had a lot of admiration for her. She suddenly popped up from behind a display and waved a black thong in Ranger's face. He almost fell over backwards.

"What do you think of this one?" She grinned. I smiled back.

"I like it, it's very…kinky." Kinky? Where the hell had that come from? Ranger glared at me. Ok, so maybe he wasn't fully forgiven for being an ass. I'm sure a day's shopping with me and Carmella would teach him a lesson he'd never forget! Carmella nodded at me.

"That's what I thought to. You can never have enough kinky underwear." She threw them into her shopping basket and then handed the basket to Ranger.

"Make yourself useful and hold this." She instructed and disappeared again. Ranger looked like how I'd felt in the bar, didn't want to touch anything and didn't particularly want to breath the air on offer. There was suddenly a shout of.

"Dad, catch!" and a lacy bra came flying through the air and landed on Ranger's head. I burst out laughing at the sight of the Ranger with a bra on his head. I wished I had a camera, maybe I could ask the shop for the security tape. Ranger pulled the bra of his head and dropped it in the basket. I smiled at him, trying to impersonate Carmella's sickly sweet grin. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't encourage her. It's bad enough that I have to be here." He hissed.

Twenty minutes later, the basket was full of various undergarments, including a new bra and panties set for me which Carmella had convinced me into getting. Ranger was at the till and shifting uncomfortably as all the items were scanned.

"That will be $298.99." the assistant smiled. Ranger turned and stared at Carmella in amazement, then handed over a credit card to the assistant. She scanned it and handed Ranger the bags of underwear. He led us out of the shop in silence. When we were out of the shop, he turned to Carmella

"$300 worth of underwear? That is ridiculous Carmella, you can't possibly need all this!" he scolded. She stared at him.

"I do, I swear. I left most of my things in Florida." She explained sweetly. Ranger groaned.

"You're going to bleed me dry." He muttered. Carmella planted a kiss on his cheek

"Gracias Papa!" she smiled. He smiled briefly, then smiled at me. I grinned then looked at Carmella.

"Where to now?" I asked.

After four hours and over $3500, I was beginning to think that Ranger's fortune was more legitimate then I'd first anticipated. But then, he owned his own business and he was the best at what he did. I don't know why I'd ever doubted his income. Carmella was very happy as she now had a completely new wardrobe. She was lucky to have such a caring (and rich) father. We walked out of the mall towards the car. It had been a fun day. Strange, but fun.

He watched the trio walk towards the car; the girl was skipping and laughing, the woman laughing with her and the man watching over them, smiling. This was the worst task he could have ever been set. That's probably why they gave it to him. A sick, twisted punishment. He stared at the girl. She was so much like his daughter. He could tell, even from here, that she had the same playful spirit. He hit his head against the steering wheel. Fuck it, he couldn't do this. He turned the keys in the ignition when his phone rang. He turned off the engine and picked it up.

"Yeah?"

"Going somewhere?" The oh-to-familiar voice asked.

"Fuck you, I'm not going to do this. This is sick. They look like a happy family. I've got no incentive. You guys are sick fuck's, do you have a problem with happy families or something?" There was silence at the other end. He knew he'd gone too far.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that because I know you're upset right now, but you wanna be careful spouting out crap like that because one day you're going to say it to the wrong person. Now you need to remember it is either them or you. You don't want to go around saying crap like that because one day you may find yourself with a fucking great hole in your head. Just remember that. Now do your job and stop being such a fucking pussy." The line went dead. He sighed and turned the key in the ignition. They had almost reached the car. It was now or never. He revved the car and stamped down on the accelerator. The car screeched towards the happy three. The girl saw him first. She screamed and ran to get out of the way, but tripped. He smiled, maybe this was going to be easier then he'd thought.

Carmella suddenly shrieked. I spun around and saw the car hurtling towards us. Ranger grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the pavement. Carmella tried to run and dodge out of the way, but tripped and fell in the path of the speeding car. Ranger turned and saw her lying in the road, clutching her ankle and crying in pain and terror.

"Carmella!" he shouted and glanced at the car before darting out into the road. I closed my eyes and turned away. There was the sound of tyres screeching and a thump. Then it all went quiet.

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Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and please keep on reading and reviewing. Again, am always glad to hear suggestions. I hope you like this chapter and the next should be up soon coz I'm on study leave!!!!


	7. Daddy please open your eyes

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story.**

I almost couldn't myself to look around. I heard the car go screeching out of the lot. I didn't even think to try and get the registration. Every sound seemed muted. I eventually opened my eyes and all the sound came back. I could hear a girl screaming and knew instantly that it was Carmella.

"Daddy please, open your eyes. This isn't fucking fair! Please just open your eyes. Talk to me, say something. Anything. Don't you dare fucking die on me!" she shrieked. I looked down and saw her sat on the floor with blood and tears pouring down her face and holding Ranger in her arms. I felt tears pooling in my own eyes as I watched the helpless teenager and thanked God that I'd never been in that situation. I ran to her side and she looked up at me. Her eyes were filled with fear and sadness.

"Call an ambulance, please. I don't think he's breathing properly." She sobbed. I nodded wordlessly and grabbed my cell phone out of my purse. I started to type in the number, but my hands were shaking uncontrollably and my vision was blurred by tears. I looked up and saw the parking lot wasn't empty as I'd assumed, but there were about twenty people looking at the scene in horror.

"I've already called an ambulance and the police my dear, I'm sure everything will be ok." A woman about my age told Carmella, who shot her a look of disbelief.

"Ok? How the fuck is everything going to be ok? My dad has just been hit by a fucking car and is now unconscious. This is the first time I've seen him in six years and now there's a chance that he will die because of me. So explain to me how you can fucking think that everything will be ok because I am really struggling to see it." She screamed. The woman took a step back. I looked up at the woman.

"She doesn't mean that, she's just in…in shock." I explained. I didn't know why I said that because I personally thought that Carmella had a point. The sound of sirens filled the air and an ambulance came speeding into the lot, followed by two police cars and finally Joe in his POS cop car. The paramedics had clustered around Ranger and two cops had pulled Carmella away so the paramedics could do their job. Joe ran over to my side and wrapped his arms around me.

"How did you know I'd be here?" I whispered. He kissed me lightly on the head.

"I didn't, I just happened to be called out on this one. How are you?" I was shaking and scared for Ranger's life. I shrugged.

"I've been better." I looked over and saw Ranger lying motionless on a stretcher with an oxygen mask strapped over his mouth. Carmella clambered into the ambulance, the doors were slammed shut and they sped away. I pulled myself out of Joe's embrace.

"I need to go the hospital. Carmella's going to be all alone and I need to see if-" Joe nodded and pulled me to his car. We clambered in and Joe stuck the light on top. We roared out of the lot and followed the ambulance to the hospital.

I found Carmella in the waiting area out side of Ranger's room. She was shaking and had silent tears rolling down her face. I sat next to her in silence. I had no idea what I could say, because no words could make this better. Joe was downstairs, talking to his colleagues. They doubtlessly needed to talk to Carmella and I about what had happened, but if one of them came anywhere near us before we found out how Ranger was, I would personally castrate them. I had already told Joe this and he was probably passing the warning on. Danger, emotionally unstable females; handle with care.

"This is all my fault." Carmella whispered. I took her hand in mine.

"No it isn't sweetie. None of this is your fault. It's that fucking lunatic behind the wheel of the car's fault." She shook her head and the tears splashed onto her skirt.

"No, it's my fault. If I hadn't fallen over then he'd never have had to run out to try and save me. It should be me in there, not him." She sobbed. I threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me.

"You can't blame yourself. If you keep blaming yourself you'll go crazy with guilt. You need to be strong, for Ranger's sake if nothing else." I felt her nod. I looked up and saw Joe walking down the corridor towards us, followed by Tank and Lester. Tank saw Carmella and ran over to her. He pulled her out of my grasp and embraced her. Lester placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled softly at me, then walked over to Carmella who had burst into fresh tears. Joe pulled me to one side and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

"How are you holding up?" he asked. I didn't know what I could say.

"Better then Carmella." I finally answered. Joe glanced over at her.

"It can't be easy for her. Try not to get stressed. Stress isn't good for the bambino." He smiled kindly. I nodded and rested my head against him. It had never even crossed my mind that Ranger might…die. I always saw him as immortal. I'd seen him get shot at, threatened and hit but he always recovered almost instantly. Always. But now, now there was someone who really needed him; there was the chance he might not pull through. Maybe it's love that makes us mortal. A nurse walked out of Ranger's room and looked at us. She had a professional smile that didn't give anything away.

"Mrs Mañoso?" she asked me. I shook my head.

"I'm Miss Mañoso, Ricardo's daughter. How is he?" Carmella asked, her face paling. Tank had her hand grasped in his reassuringly. The nurse smiled.

"Would you like to go somewhere private?" she asked. Carmella shook her head. "No, I want to know how he is now." The nurse nodded.

"Mr Mañoso was very lucky. There is no lasting damage that we can detect and he is due to make a full recovery. Just a concussion and a broken arm. Apparently you cushioned his fall." The nurse smiled. Carmella blushed slightly. "We are going to be keeping him in for overnight surveillance but if all goes well, he should be able to leave tomorrow." Carmella smiled and ran over to me. She threw her arms around me and laughed.

"He's going to be ok Stephie!" she whispered with tears still rolling down her face. I nodded and smiled. Carmela stepped back and looked from me to the nurse. "Cam we go in and see him?" she asked. The nurse nodded and opened the door, glancing nervously at the three men. It was understandable; they were pretty nerve-wrecking guys. Tank and Lester sat down, trying to look less intimidating. Joe smiled and looked at his watch. "I have to go and tell the guys downstairs. I'll see you later." He kissed me quickly and walked back down the corridor. I followed Carmella into the room. Ranger was lying on the bed with a load of wires connecting him to machines. Carmella and I sat down in one of the chairs next to his bed. He smiled weakly.

"You scared the shit out of me." Carmella whispered.

"I've told you, I don't like you swearing. Please don't." he mock-scolded. Carmella rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Broken arm, huh?" she asked. He looked from her to me.

"I've had worse." He assured us. Carmella laughed nervously.

"Thank you." She said suddenly. He looked at her in surprise.

"What for?" He asked. Carmella shifted uncomfortably.

"For saving me, when that car-"

"Sweetheart, of course I'd save you. You're my daughter, you're the most important thing in the world to me." he smiled. I was feeling severely left out and emotional. I wondered if I'd ever have such a strong relationship with my child. I hoped so.

After about twenty minutes, Carmella went to get us a coffee. Ranger looked at me and gave me a half-smile.

"Thanks for staying with her." He said softly. I nodded.

"She's a great kid and she needed someone. I'm glad you're ok." I blurted out. He smiled at me. I noticed he'd been smiling a lot more since Carmella had showed up. It was…nice.

"Well…I guess I'll be going when Carmella gets back. Joe's going to want to see me. Tank and Lester are here, did you know?" Ranger's eyes darkened for a few seconds.

"I didn't know. I guess I'll need to talk to them." I nodded.

"Are you ok? You look a bit…" angry, livid…homicidal "pained." I settled on. Ranger stared at me for a few beats, apparently trying to search for an answer. "Do you think that Carmella and Tank are…closer then is normal?" I stared. "Well, what do you mean close? I think they get on well. I guess he's a bit like a…an uncle to her."

"Or a surrogate father." Ranger muttered darkly. I stroked his hand and smiled.

"That's stupid. You're her father, not Tank. She knows that. When you were unconscious in the lot, she was inconsolable. You are her father and she loves you dearly." Ranger nodded and smiled at me.

"Thank you." I smiled back. The door swung open and Carmella walked in, with a mug of coffee in each hand. She handed me one and sat down. Ranger stared at the steaming cup of coffee.

"Where's mine?" he asked, sounding extremely let down and like a stroppy teen. "You don't get any, doctor's orders. When you get out you can drink as much coffee as you like, but not until then." Ranger glared at her. Carmella glared back. It was funny how similar they looked. I stood up and looked down at them. "Well, I think I'd better be going. I need to report to the police station on the way home. I don't suppose either of you got the car's registration?" I asked. They both shook their heads.

"Sorry, all I remember is that it was red. A Buick LeSabre I think." Carmela said. I nodded, I'd got red as well. I told Ranger to get better soon and that I was going to sign his cast to which he replied 'Over my dead body'. I walked out and bid farewell to Tank and Lester, who both promptly went into the room. I called Morelli once I was outside the hospital and told him that I needed picking up, since my car was still at the office. Ten minutes later, Morelli pulled up in front of me. I opened the door and climbed in.

"Hey cupcake, how is he?" he asked, probably more out of courtesy then actual concern. I don't think Joe would be too cut up if Ranger came to an untimely end. He'd just be a bit put out to find me adequate protection when I did something outrageously stupid and ended up with a deranged killer after me. Joe dropped me off outside the office and I went to get my car. As soon as Connie and Lula saw me through the window, they beckoned for me to come in. I sighed and pushed the door open.

"Omigod, is Ranger dead? It would be a sad loss for womankind if Ranger was dead. Whose ass would we talk about?" Lula gabbled. I sat down on the couch. "Ranger's not dead. He's got a broken arm and concussion. He got hit by a car. He was trying to get Carmella out of the way. They're both fine and he should be out of hospital tomorrow." They both stared at me, mouths open in amazement. "When the police came, I thought he was dead. They just said that he'd been hit by a speeding car and was taken to hospital to be treated. Vinnie almost had a heart attack at the thought of his numero uno bounty hunter being dead. " Connie announced. I nodded and got up.

"I'll call in tomorrow, now I've got and make a statement."

Making the statement was pretty much routine. Yes I'd been there, no I hadn't seen the car hit Ranger, no I didn't get the registration. After they were sure they had checked every little detail eight times, they let me go. I drove home and processed the day's events. It was almost unbelievable how close the three of us had been to death. I wondered whether the driver had been deliberately trying to knock us down. They hadn't stopped to see if we were ok, and they'd been driving much to fast. It was confusing. I wasn't sure why anyone would want to kill any of us. I hadn't infuriated any crazed killers lately to my knowledge. Maybe Ranger had pissed someone off majorly. I just didn't know.

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He picked up the phone on the first ring.

"What?" he asked.

"Guess what you fucking genius, they're not dead." The voice shouted.

"What the fuck? That's bullshit, I hit them."

"Mañoso has a broken leg and a concussion and the girl has grazed face and elbow. That's it."

"Fuck." He ground his teeth, this was not good. Failure was not an option. "Well, I tried man." He heard a snarl at the other end of the phone line. "Guess what? You're going to have to try a bit harder. I don't care how long it takes, but if it's not done then you'll be joining your fucking good for nothing wife and daughter." And before he could reply the line was dead.

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Again, merci beacoup for all the fantastic reviews, they are always welcome and appreciated. BTW, I'm spelling Carmella with a double l now since I have been informed that is the proper way of spelling it!! Oops! I'll try 2 update soon, thanks to everyone for reading and please review if you like it!


	8. Imaginary

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

**"Imaginary" **By** Evanescence**

I linger in the doorway  
Of alarm clock screaming  
Monsters calling my name  
Let me stay  
Where the wind will whisper to me  
Where the raindrops  
As they're falling tell a story

_Chorus:_  
In my field of paper flowers  
And candy clouds of lullaby  
I lie inside myself for hours  
And watch my purple sky fly over me

Don't say I'm out of touch  
With this rampant chaos- your reality  
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge  
The nightmare I built my own world to escape

_Chorus_

Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming  
Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights  
Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming  
The goddess of imaginary light

I woke up the next morning to the sound of the shower running. I wondered into the bathroom and found Joe stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel.

"Morning Cupcake." He smiled and planted a kiss on my lips, dripping water over me as he did so. I smiled back and stepped into the shower. He grinned at me.

"Need some help there?" I stuck out my tongue.

"I think I can manage ok by myself thank you, I'm a big girl now." I replied. Joe smiled at me.

"I don't doubt that for one second. I'll see you downstairs." He walked out the bathroom, taking care to leave the door open behind him. I showered and got dressed in my usual uniform of jeans, t-shirt and a pair of boots. I was beginning to think I needed a new look. It must be because of all that shopping yesterday. As far as I could remember, this was always what I'd worn. When I'd been at school, it had been practical and as far as I could tell it still was. I'd never even thought of wearing the kind of clothes Carmella picked out yesterday as everyday wear, mini skirts, halter necks, cut of jeans…but they did look good on her. But then again, she was fifteen. But still, I might ask her for help…but it was a bit sad that I'd be asking a fifteen year old for fashion advice, it would be like…admitting defeat, at the same time, who else could I ask? Valerie? I loved her dearly, but her style was too proper and serene for me. Lula? Hell no! Sally? No, just no! it had to be Carmella. Fine, I would ask her today. I'd have to get some money though since it was unlikely that Joe would fund a shopping spree. I could always go after Simon Pasin, as long as I was careful that I didn't bump his car or wear anything flammable. I trudged downstairs and pulled a cookie out of the cookie jar that I'd insisted on Joe buying. He handed me a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Front page, hit and run. A picture of Carmela kneeling next to Ranger's body with me stood next to her. I didn't know how they'd got the picture but somehow they always managed to get one. I groaned and quickly scanned the article. Well, if there'd been any hope of my mother not hearing about this, it was gone now. The phone on the wall started ringing. I buried my head in my hands.

"I'm not here!" I shouted in a muffled voice. Joe picked up the phone.

"Hello?...oh hello Mrs Plum…Stephanie? Sure she's just here!" he handed me the phone. I covered the mouthpiece and glared at him.

"My child has no father." I hissed. He grinned and drank my coffee.

"Hi mom." I sighed, knowing what was about to come.

"What is all this about a hit and run?" she asked. I knew it. It was actually amazing that she'd gone this long without finding out.

"There was a hit and run last night in the mall car park. Ranger was hit but he's ok. That's it."

"Why me?" she asked "Rita Miller's daughter never has any friends who get run down by maniacs." I sighed.

"Yeah I know, life's a bitch. I have to go now mom, goodbye." I hung up. Joe was grinning at me.

"I cannot believe that you just told your mother life was a bitch."

"I know, I'm a bad daughter." Joe smiled and planted a coffee scented kiss on my lips.

"You're not a bad daughter, you're an…original daughter." He assured me. I smiled at him, then looked at the clock.

"You need to be getting to work." I pointed out. He sighed.

"Yeah I know. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight, we haven't been out for ages." I nodded.

"Sure, you decide where and then ring me with the details." He gave me a kiss that made me wonder if he really needed to leave right now and then left before I could pounce on him. I went upstairs to brush my teeth, then bid Bob farewell and made my way to the office.

Connie, Lula and I were slowly making our way through the day's second box of doughnuts, when Carmella and Ranger ambled in. Ranger had a white plaster cast around his left arm. They were both wearing sunglasses despite the fact that it wasn't particularly sunny and we were, in fact, indoors. Carmella had a bruise above her left eye and a graze on her cheek. She was wearing black jeans and a black army-style jacket. It was obvious that she was Ranger's daughter, they were practically identical. She grinned at me and sent me a finger wave, which I returned. Ranger took a file off the desk and looked at it.

"Um Ranger, you know that you're not, well…expected to be back at work yet. You can take time off if you want." Connie informed him timidly. Carmella sighed.

"That is what I told him, but he was all like 'I can work just fine thank you very much'. It's crazy; I mean he's a work freak. He's got Tank driving him round and a little posse at his disposal, anyone of them could retrieve the FTA's but no, it has to be him, Mr Ricardo Carlos 'I shall and will be the best' Mañoso." She raised her arms and flopped onto the couch.

"Men!" she exclaimed.

"Shut up Carmella." Ranger said, not angry but not joking. She glared at him and pulled a face. He almost smiled, then looked at me.

"Do you want some help getting Pasin?" he asked. I didn't know what to say. I did want his help, but equally, I didn't want him putting himself out on my behalf, especially when he had a broken arm. I glanced over at Carmella, who shrugged.

"Well, he's determined to work anyway so it may as well be with you so I'll have someone to talk to about stuff that isn't bombs, the army or how to survive rapid gunfire, which is pretty much all him and Tank talk about." She smiled. I looked back at Ranger and nodded.

"Sure, help would be good." He grinned his wolf grin.

"Well then I guess I'm all yours." I could see Connie and Lula fanning themselves behind him. The moment was interrupted by Carmella.

"Ewww! Old people, can you please save the sexual innuendos until after the naïve teenager is out of earshot?!" She exclaimed and walked towards the door. "Well come on then, let's get going!" she smiled and walked out the door and got into the black SUV parked outside the office. I shrugged and followed her. Ranger climbed into the passenger seat, while me and Carmella sat in the back. We drove out of the lot in silence. Carmella sighed and leaned forwards, turning the radio on. I saw Tank and Ranger smile slightly.

"Oh wow, I love this song!" she exclaimed. "_Perfect by nature, icons of self indulgence, just what we all need, more lies about a world that never was and never will be-"_

Do you actually like this kind of song? It's so…depressing." Tank asked. Carmella shrugged.

"They're not really depressing…they're just, like, about human traits and stuff like that. Evanescence rock!" she grinned and went back to singing. I smiled and looked out the window. I tried to remember what it was like to be fifteen. I tried to forget everything I'd learnt in the past fifteen years. I knew there wasn't much, but it was still hard to try and imagine living without everything that had happened. It didn't really seem right that over the years, I'd completely lost any sense of naivety and serious imagination. I used to have my own little world where I could escape to if anything got to tough. I looked over at Carmella. She was still singing. I nudged her and leant close. She looked over.

"Ok, really weird question but did you ever have…a kind of imaginary world to escape to?" she stared at me in what I thought was shock. Then she nodded.

"Yeah, I still do. I know it's weird but living with madre, I had to grow up fast so I created my own little world where anything could happen. Whenever I get upset I just imagine I'm there. So if you didn't think I was weird before, I'm sure you will now!" she smiled. I nodded and smiled back.

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one."

We pulled up outside the club we'd visited yesterday and all climbed out the car.

"Um, I think I speak for me and Steph when I say just what the hell are we doing back in this cursed hell hole?" Carmella asked. Ranger smiled

"This is Pasin's known hangout. It's where he's most likely to be now. You're more then welcome to wait in the car."

"Hey old man, you're the only one who should be staying in the car! With you're broken bones, you're bringing down the whole cool effect" she retorted. He raised an eyebrow, then led us into the club. When we entered, everyone went quiet and stared at us. I glanced over to a corner and saw tattoo-head shrinking into the shadows. Ranger indicated over to the bar, where there was a man who looked about 40 years old and 300 pounds and was haplessly draining a pint of beer. Ranger and Tank approached him cautiously, whilst Carmella and I hung back and tried to be invisible. We saw them speak to him and could just about make out what he was saying. Yes he was Simon Pasin, yes he was aware that he'd met his court date and no he had absolutely no intention of rescheduling. He bolted and ran towards the door, straight at me and Carmella. We both squealed as he pushed past us, then Carmella took off after him.

"Hey, you stupid fuckwit! Stop, bond enforcement, you're in violation of your bond so get your fat ass back here so we can take you to the slammer and get some cash!" she shouted as she ran after him. I was a few feet behind her, but didn't really see to be getting any closer. I could hear the sound of pounding footsteps behind me, presumably Ranger and Tank's. Pasin wrenched the door of a car open and jumped in. Before he could shut the door, Carmella had reached him and put herself in the way of the closing door. She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and actually wrenched him out of the car. The three of us caught up with her and I cuffed Pasin. Then me and Carmella did a high five and she did one of those complicated handshakes with Tank that I could never master.

We dropped Pasin of at the police station and picked up our body receipt.

"Cool, that was my first apprehension!" Carmella smiled as we piled back in the car.

"You shouldn't have gone after him." Ranger said, his voice tense. Carmella blinked.

"Well, no one else seemed to be going after him. I wasn't about to let him get away." She replied and looked out the window.

"You put yourself in a vulnerable position, which in turn put all of us in a vulnerable position as well. I don't know what the hell you thought you were playing at, but you are not to do it again."

"Whatever" she whispered and went into her own world.

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Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. I know this chapter is a bit weird and pointless but still! If anyone really understands the whole American school system (junior high, senior high, proms etc and what age you are in each school and year) because I don't really get it and it's different to the English one! Keep all review coming. Arigato!


	9. Vodka and Coke

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

**"Field Of Innocence" by Evanescence **

I still remember the world  
From the eyes of a child  
Slowly those feelings  
Were clouded by what I know now

Where has my heart gone  
An uneven trade for the real world  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all

I still remember the sun  
Always warm on my back  
Somehow it seems colder now

Where has my heart gone  
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything

Where has my heart gone  
An uneven trade for the real world  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything  
Away

Where has my heart gone  
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything

I still remember…

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"So where are we going now?" I asked after about ten minutes of silence. Carmella shrugged.

"We need to get some more ammo. The stocks are running low." Tank said, more to Ranger then to anyone else.

"I'll go to the mall then, it's next to the ammo shop isn't it?" Carmella muttered. Tank nodded in response. This suited me fine, I could do my shopping. We pulled up right outside the mall, obviously not wanting any chance of a repeat of yesterday. Carmella and I started to walk into the mall, when Tank ran up to us and gave Carmella a fistful of dollar notes.

"Your dad's in a foul mood. Just ignore him; he's had a lot to deal with lately." He said, glancing briefly at me. She nodded and walked into the mall with me following. Carmella bought another new outfit and then helped me get some new clothes. I was surprised at how perceptive and useful Carmella was. She was like my own personal shopper. By the end of the trip, I had over $2000 worth of new clothes. I gave Carmella $1000 as a reward for helping with the apprehension. Ranger and Tank had assured me that they didn't want (or need) a share of the money, but I felt Carmella deserved it. She celebrated her first successful apprehension by buying a tub of Ben and Jerry's. We walked out of the mall and saw Tank and Ranger stood by the car. They had their backs to us and were arguing loudly.

"For God's sake Ranger, she's fifteen. You can't keep treating her like a little child. It's sad that you've missed so much of her life but this is not the way to get it back. If you keep treating her like a child then you're just going to drive her away. You heard what your lawyer said the other day, if you want her to stay here then you're going to have to listen to her. Eva has a shit hot defence and she has more of a chance of keeping Carmella with her then you do. She's married that boyfriend of hers and that shows a stable family environment. You can't let Carmella go back to them. Ric, you know what he did to her. Next time he might do worse." Tank said.

"You're right. I know that you're right. But when you see your only daughter running after some lunatic and putting herself in danger, you don't think about how old she is. You just think about how you can protect her. I don't think I could lose her again Tank." Ranger replied.

"I know man, but the court is already swaying in Eva's favour. Don't push it any more." I looked beside me and saw Carmella's eyes filling up with tears. She sobbed loudly and Tank and Ranger spun around and saw her.

"They're married? They got married and neither of you told me."

"Shit, Carmella, I…"

"You told me it was all ok. You said that there was no way Madre would get custody. You said that I could stay here forever." She whimpered. Ranger took a step towards her, but she stepped back and dropped her shopping bags.

"Sweetheart, I didn't want you to worry about any of this. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied to you but if I'd told you then you might have given up hope and that would have killed me. I'm so sorry."

"I can't go back there. Not with him. If you try to make me, then I'll run away again. I'll go back to Cuba and…you'll never find me." she screamed, then turned and ran off down the street.

"Shit!" Ranger exclaimed and took off after her, with me and Tank running behind him. Carmella turned a corner and disappeared from sight. She was faster then any of us and had desperation and anger fuelling her, plus Ranger had a broken arm and I was still clutching my shopping. Ranger turned the corner and slowed to a stop.

"Fuck!" he shouted. We ran to his side and saw that there were five different paths leading off to goodness knows where. We each chose a path to follow, in the hope of finding Carmella.

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He saw her walk through the door and take a seat at the bar. She didn't belong in here. She was beautiful and elegant, whereas the bar was dirty and dark. Tears were pouring down her beautiful face. He recognized her instantly, and wondered what the hell she was doing here. She pulled some money out of her pocket and called the bartender.  
"Vodka and coke." She muttered. The bartender leered toothlessly at her.

"I think you're going to have to convince me that you're old enough." He grinned. She sighed and placed her bag on the bar. She unzipped it slightly to reveal a gun.

"I think you're just going to serve me." She commanded. The guy grabbed the money from her hand and shuffled off to pour her drink. He handed it to her and she snatched it out of his grip. She looked so beautiful and innocent; it seemed like a sin to be looking at her for so long. She had no idea. She shouldn't be drinking at her age, even if she looked older. He let his eyes travel all over her beautifully developed body and noticed that the bartender was still leering. He couldn't stand it. How dare that…that pervert watch her like that. He stood from his invisible refuge and approached the bar. He could see her dark eyes, burning up with fury and anger but most of all, despair. He was so close, he could see the tiny tears that clung to her eyelashes, she could smell her perfume…She looked up and saw him. It was unbelievable, only yesterday they'd been so close but now she didn't even recognize him and if she did, she wouldn't know where she'd seen him. At the time she was clinging to her father's life. He smiled at her and she almost smiled back. Her eyes lit up for a few seconds.

"Hi." He smiled "I'd offer to buy you a drink, but apparently you already have one." She smiled back, properly this time. Her face became alive and animated.

"Well, thanks anyway. Maybe when I've finished this one…" she said suggestively. He felt a surge of feet rush through his body and had to remind himself that she was fifteen. But she looked so much older.

"So…what brings you here?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Just had a bad day." She replied, not giving anything away and giving the impression that he shouldn't ask.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He watched her drain the last of her drink. "So, can I get you another?" he offered, the second she put her glass down.

"You're keen, aren't you?" she giggled as he ordered another vodka and coke. Maybe now would be a good time…if he could get her then maybe that would be it, over.

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I ran up and down the alleys, looking for any sign of Carmella. Nothing. My cell phone rang and I delved through the contents of my pocket book.

"Carmella?" I asked.

"No babe, I guess this means that you haven't found her either." Ranger's voice said.

"Where would she be?" I asked. "She can't have gone back to the mall, Tank's there and he'd have called wouldn't he?" There was no need to ask. He would have called.

"We've just got to keep looking babe."

"We're getting no where. We're probably just following each other in circles."

"I know you're right. Meet me at the end of the alley where we first split up." He instructed, then hung up. I made my way back down the alley and saw Ranger leant against one of the buildings. He looked so worried. I touched his arm lightly and smiled.

"We will find her. She's just upset right now." Ranger nodded, then looked up at me.

"What did she mean 'back to Cuba'? When did she go to Cuba in the first place?" he asked. I didn't know what to say.

"Didn't she tell you?" I asked, guessing the answer. He shook his head. "Well, she told us on the first day she got here that when she left Florida. She just said that she went to stay with family in Cuba for two months before she came here."

"That means that she's been out of school for about three months. Oh hell, this is not going to look good in court." He muttered.

"I know, but right now we have to find Carmella." I told him. He nodded and we set off down the last unchecked alley.

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"My name's Carmella." She smiled sweetly. He felt his heart melt at her expression.

"I'm Carl." He replied, saying the first name that came into his head. He rested his hand on her thigh and smiled at her.

"I feel like I can talk to you Carmella." He smiled "Do you want to go and get something to eat? My car's just outside." He told her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea…" she replied and shifted to try to get his hand off her, but he kept it firmly on her thigh.

"Come on, we've been talking for ages. I'm just offering to get you something to eat, you look hungry." He moved his hand slightly higher up her thigh.  
"I really think I should be going now." She shifted and made to stand up. He pushed her back down firmly.

"I don't think so."

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We walked down to the end of the alley and came out in a dark street. There was nothing except a few cars selling clothes and various items from the boot, a pub and an abandoned porn shop.

"I can't see her hanging around here." Ranger muttered. I nodded.

"No, it's a bit too down-market for her. But…what about the pub? If she was angry she may have just gone in for a drink." I suggested. Ranger shook his head.

"I can't see it. This place is a hole."

"We could just see…"

"I'm telling you, she wouldn't be here." Suddenly, there was the sound of crashing and a loud scream from inside the pub.

"Well now we have to check." I muttered.

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Carmella kicked her legs out and flailed her arms as much as she could. Carl had and arm wrapped her waist and arms and another around her thighs. As he tried to carry her out of the pub, she kicked over tables and stools and screamed for help. But no one helped. They just pretended it wasn't happening. She tried to hit him with her purse but couldn't free her arms that much.

"Get the fuck off of me you fucking paedo-wanker!" She shrieked and managed to kick him in the shin. He wobbled slightly, but kept hold of her. The door of the bar crashed open and Steph and her dad ran in. Steph ran over to them, jumped onto Carls back and started hitting him and kicking him the back of the leg.

"My gun! Get my gun out of my bag!" She threw her bag to Ranger, who fished the gun out and pointed it in their direction. Everyone froze.

One of the strangest and most horrible things you could ever experience is standing, holding a gun in one hand with the other arm in a plaster cast and pointing that gun at your only daughter and the woman you love who, coincidently, is carrying someone else's child. If you fire, then theirs is the chance that you could hit either of them. If you don't fire, than you're just stood there helpless and anything could happen. You may as well be holding a banana instead of a gun. Everything moves in slow motion and the sound was muted. Ranger drew back the hammer on the gun and aimed. Carmella's legs kicked up and he shot at the guy's leg. The bullet hit just above his knee and he dropped Carmella. The sound came back and everything went back to normal speed. Steph jumped off his back and stepped back. The guy grimaced and clutched at his leg. He pushed past Ranger and disappeared.

XxX

I ran over to Carmella and crouched down next to her. She was curled up on the floor, sobbing. Ranger ran over to us and pulled out his cell phone. He had a brief conversation with Tank and then crouched next to his daughter.

"Hey Sweetheart. You almost gave me a heart attack." He smiled. She sniffed and kept her face buried in her arms. The bar door opened again and Tank walked in. He stooped down, picked Carmella up and carried her wordlessly and effortlessly out the door with me and Ranger following.

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Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. Thanks especially to Rangersgirl and Dragen Eyez. I'll try to update soon, but if I don't then Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Everything to everyone! Keep all review coming. Arigato!


	10. AKA the Batcave

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Ranger glanced at his daughter, who was huddled up on the back seat.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asked softly. She shook her head and sniffed.

"Did anyone get my shopping?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I picked it up. I'm afraid I couldn't save the Ben and Jerry's though." Tank smiled. She almost smiled back. I placed my hand on her arm, trying to be reassuring, but she flinched and pulled away. Tank pulled up outside the office and we all got out. Carmella walked wordlessly into the office and sat on the couch. Tank and Ranger were sending each other dark and meaningful looks.

Tank got back in the car and drove off; going God knows where, maybe to take over some unmapped country. Ranger and I stood outside in silence. I looked up at him.

"What did he do to her?" I asked. Ranger tensed and avoided eye contact.

"He tried to rape her, he beat her senseless, he broke three of her ribs and he put her in hospital four times. If she goes back, he'll be furious and do God knows what to her. If I get custody then we can press charges and put him behind bars. If he walks, I'll kill him." He said darkly. I knew he meant it.

"You go and talk to your daughter. I'll go and get her some more ice cream." I told him. He nodded and walked into the office. I strolled down the street and into the 7/11. After locating the Ben and Jerry's, I picked up two tubs and walked to the counter. The Pakistani manger looked at me and smiled.

"You are the bombshell bounty hunter, are you not?" he asked. I nodded and forked over a twenty dollar bill then stood waiting expectantly for my change.

"How many maniacs have you taken off the streets today then?" he asked.

"Just the one today, but I have a good feeling about tomorrow." I smiled, took my change and ice cream and walked out the shop.

Carmella was sat on the couch when I walked back in. I took two spoons off the coffee tray and handed her a spoon and a tub of ice cream, then settled next to her and started to eat mine.

"I was just at the shop and I got the weirdest craving for ice cream and I couldn't resist getting myself some as well." I told her. She smiled.

"And so it begins, you'll be like a beached whale by the ninth month." I laughed but was a bit scared that it was, in fact, a pretty accurate prediction.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked, noting the lack of his presence.

"He's talking to Vinnie. I wish he'd just hurry up, I want to go home." She stated. I suddenly wondered where she was staying. Maybe it was the Batcave!

"Are you staying in the office building?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Connie and Lula both stopped pretending to work and looked up, intrigued.

"No, of course not. I'm staying at Dad's house." A.k.a the Batcave.

"Oh right. Which house?" I asked.

"The one on Ha-" Carmella was cut off by Ranger walking back into the room. My cell phone rang and the read-out told me it was Joe.

"Hey cupcake." He chimed when I answered "Pino's in half an hour ok for tea? I'll have to meet you there."

"Sound's great." I replied and then looked over at Carmella. She still looked pretty shook up. I turned my back and spoke quietly "Would it be ok if Carmella and Ranger came? It's just that Carmella's had a rough day and it doesn't look like anything amazing is going to happed to make it better anytime soon." I asked. Joe faked a huge sigh. At least I hope it was a fake sigh.

"Yeah that's fine. I'll see you later." He said, then disconnected. One of these days I was going to hang up first. I turned back to Carmella.

"Hey, do you want to come out for a pizza with me and Joe? You can come as well." I added to Ranger. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Ranger smiled at his daughter and sent me an appreciative nod. I sat back down and started on my ice cream again; feeling satisfied that I'd done my good deeds for the day. Ranger pulled up a chair opposite us and looked at me.

"You went to Trenton High, didn't you?" he asked. I nodded

"Yeah, it was great as far as high school goes. Got me into a decent college." I stated. I didn't want to go into the whole career path I'd ended up following.

"Good, I'm thinking of sending Carmella there." Carmella looked up, stunned.

"What?" she asked in a shocked voice.

"You have to go to school. You haven't been for about three months. And don't think we won't be having a talk about the whole going to Cuba incident. If you go to a school here then it'll show the courts that you have a stable life here and give us more of a chance of winning." He replied. Carmella scowled but stayed quiet. Ranger stood up and walked to the desk, pulling a phone directory open. Carmella turned her scowl to my direction.

"Y'know, you could have said it was a dump or something. I hate school!" she moaned. I smiled

"Everyone has to go. Wait a year and then you'll have the choice but until then, you have no say whatsoever." Ranger tapped in a number to the phone and stood waiting for whoever he was calling to pick up.

"Hello is this Trenton High School?" he asked. Carmella's mouth dropped in shock.

"Oh my gosh, he's actually going through with this. I thought it was just a threat!"

"It's not that bad, you don't have to wear a uniform or anything." I told her.

"Yes, I want to enrol my daughter…she's fifteen…her name's Carmella Maria Conchita Mañoso…M-A-N-O-S-O…yeah, that's great…ok, what equipment will she need?" he grabbed a pen and piece of paper off the table and started writing a list.

"Well, you've been a great help, I guess we'll see you on Monday. Goodbye." He placed the phone down and looked up.

"Monday, you're going to school. You need a P.E kit and the usual school stuff." Carmella continued to stare in shock.

"Monday? But today's Wednesday. That means I only have four proper days to get ready!" She exclaimed "I'll have to go shopping again!" Ranger paled slightly.

"Again? How much more stuff can you need?" he muttered.

"You have an amazing name!" I said to Carmella, feeling the unnecessary tension in the room. She rolled her eyes.

"You think so? It's ridiculously long. Mom wanted to call me Minnie, like after the mouse. Can you imagine that? Minnie Mañoso! It'd be awful! Dad insisted that I have a proper Spanish name. So my initials are CMCM. It's madness!" Ranger grinned.

"It's a great name, it ensures that you're different." He smiled. I looked at the clock on the wall and decided we should start walking to Pino's.

The walk was made more 'interesting' by Carmella arguing with Ranger about why she shouldn't have to go to school.

"But if madre does get custody, heaven forbid, I'll have to go back to Florida and re-settle in another school!" she exclaimed.

"No, you just go back to your old school." He replied.

"No I can't, I was expelled!" she exclaimed.

"Uh oh" I muttered, noticing the look on Ranger's face.

"You were expelled? When? Why?"

"I thought Madre told you." She muttered.

"No"

"Ah well, there was an incident involving some minor explosives and the boys toilets. It was political; they spent loads re-decorating the boys' toilets but did nothing to the girls, when the boys only use the loos if they want to smoke. It wasn't fair! So me and a couple of friends accidentally, of course, exploded a toilet. No one was hurt; I personally didn't see the problem. Anyway I was expelled and my friends were suspended." I was trying so hard not to laugh and could see that Ranger was as well.

"Why weren't the others expelled?" I managed to ask.

"Well, it was my idea and I was the one that actually did the detonating, so I took the rap for it. I was planning on doing a runner anyway, so there was no point the four of us all being expelled." She explained.

"That was very noble of you." I grinned. She nodded.

"I am a very noble person." I could see Ranger shaking his head in disbelief.

Joe arrived ten minutes after us and sat down next to me, planting a kiss on my cheek. He greeted Carmella and Ranger and then picked up a menu.

"Carmella's going to Trenton High." I informed him. He looked up.

"No shit, that's where I went." He told her. She looked at him.

"Did everyone around here go to Trenton?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, probably." She looked at Joe.

"Do you have any sons or nephews that go to Trenton?" she asked.

"Three of my nephews go there, one's the year above you, one's the same age as you and the other is two years above you. A few of my nieces go there as well." He told her. Carmella looked more interested in the nephews.

"I don't suppose you have any pictures of the nephews do you?" she asked, earning her a dark look from Ranger. "What? I'm just asking!" she exclaimed.

The pizzas arrived pretty quickly. That was what I loved about Pino's, the service was good and the pizzas were delicious. Half way through eating, Joe's cell phone started ringing. He answered in his usual professional manner.

"What? ...that's hardly my speciality…isn't there anyone else? ...fine, what's the address? ...ok, I'll be there as quick as I can." He hung up and cursed under his breath.

"I have to go, there's been a fire somewhere on Hanstock Street, y'know the one with the huge houses, one of the houses is burning up and they need me to be there. They can't get hold of anyone else, probably all had there phones off, smart bastards. They don't know who lives there and the neighbours aren't home." He sighed and made to stand up. I noticed that Carmella and Ranger had gone slightly rigid and pale.

"What number on Hanstock Street?" Carmella whispered.

"Um…number 16." He replied. Carmella pressed her hand against her mouth and sobbed.

"Well, you just found the owner." Ranger informed him and stood up. Joe stared in surprise.

"You mean that's your house?" he asked. Ranger nodded and I could see Carmella's eyes filling with tears.

"OK, do you want to come with me? I know you can't exactly drive in your state." He offered. Ranger nodded and pulled Carmella gently to her feet. She grasped my hand.

"Come with me?" she asked. She looked so helpless. It obviously hadn't been her day. I stood, threw a few dollar notes on the table and we ran out to Joe's car.

Carmella was shaking throughout the whole journey to the house. It was unbelievable, I finally knew where the Batcave was and it was burning to the ground. We pulled up at the end of the street and walked under the police line/ Carmella burst into tears at the sight of the skeleton of the house and the ashes that were still smouldering. It had obviously been huge. Ranger pulled her to him and whispered to her in Spanish. She nodded and blinked away tears.

"I just can't believe it. Everything's gone. All my clothes, my jewellery…everything." She put her hand to her neck and cried out. "My necklace! I forgot to put it on this morning and now it's-" she burst into fresh tears and fell against Ranger.

"She was given the necklace by her Great-Aunty before she died." He whispered to me. My heart ached for her. It was so awful. A fireman walked up to us, looking sympathetic. I recognized him as Matt Baldwin, he'd been the year below me at school so I didn't really know him personally but he seemed like a nice enough guy.

"Are you the owners?" He asked. Ranger nodded silently. "I'm really sorry" Matt went on "We managed to salvage a few things, but everything else…well, you can see." He indicated to the house, then held out his hand. Sat in it was a silver chain with a cross pendant on it and what looked like a gold wedding band. Carmella squealed and grabbed the necklace.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She jumped up and hugged Matt. He looked slightly embarrassed but smiled. Ranger took the ring silently and stuffed it in his pocket. I looked over at him enquiringly but didn't say anything. Carmella attached the slightly blackened necklace firmly around her neck and sighed.

"I'll never take this off again!" she grinned. Joe walked over to us and looked at Ranger.

"I need a word." He said simply and indicated that they should talk somewhere private. Ranger didn't move.

"You can say whatever it is hear, it's Carmella's business as much as it is mine." Joe nodded.

"It looks like the fire was started with a Moltov Cocktail into one of the bedrooms upstairs. Whoever threw it must have had a strong arm." He explained. We all nodded wordlessly.

"I'm going to need you to come down to the station, help us think of anyone that might want to hurt or scare you and Carmella." He told Ranger.

"Ok, I'll call for someone to come and get Carmella then I'll come with you." He said and pulled out his phone. A few minutes later, a black SUV pulled up and Bobby got out. He walked over to us and threw an arm around Carmella.

"Don't worry about a thing Princess, we've got a whole apartment sorted for you and there are some of the clothes that you bought this afternoon plus a few more waiting for you." He told her. She smiled weakly and nodded.

"Hey Bobby, drop Steph off as well." Ranger told him.

"Wait, can't Stephie stay the night, just this once. It's just that you won't be back for ages and I don't want to be alone..." Carmella trailed off. I looked up at Joe who smiled and nodded. I looked back to Carmella and nodded.

"Sure I'll stay. I've got a load of new clothes that I can wear tomorrow." I smiled and we climbed in the car.

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Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. Woo, I managed to update again before Christmas! Anyway it's the holidays which means I'll either be able to do loads more or I won't have time to do any! Thanks for reading. Keep all the reviews coming. Arigato!


	11. Have a nice life

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

We were ushered into the lift by Bobby and taken up to the fourth floor.

"Ranger said that you can have this apartment all to yourself princess. Here's a key card and the key for your dad's apartment on the seventh floor." He handed her the two little gadgets and opened the door to the apartment that I'd stayed in during the whole Junkman incident. Her shopping bags were on the sofa in the centre. She sighed and looked around.

"This is cool. How many fifteen year olds have their own top of the range apartment?" she asked, smiling sadly.

"Only the special ones, Princess." Bobby smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"I have to go do surveillance, I'm sure Steph can show you everything, can't you Bombshell?" he asked, grinning. I looked up, shocked at hearing my old nickname. He gave Carmella another hug and walked out.

"I guess you want to sleep." I said to Carmella. She nodded and yawned to emphasise the point. I showed her the intercom and the locks on the door. Everything else was pretty much self explanatory. I pulled some blankets out the cupboard and threw them on the couch that was my bed for the night. Carmella emerged from her bedroom wearing some 'Boys are smelly' boxer shorts and a matching tank top.

"G'night Stephie. Thanks for staying tonight. I'm sorry if I disrupted any plans, I didn't think-"

"Carmella it's ok, I had no plans and even if I did, you're more important." God help me, I was growing to think of this kid as a daughter. She walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Thanks Steph, you're going to be a great mom. I'll see you in the morning." She smiled and walked into her bedroom. I pulled on a new nightshirt and flopped on the couch. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up suddenly to the sound of the door opening. I sat up and saw Ranger walk in. He glanced over to the sofa and saw my head poking over the top. He smiled, walked over and sat on the sofa, lifting my legs onto his lap.

"Thanks for this babe, I really appreciate it. I know Carmella does as well." He smiled weakly. I stroked his hair.

"It's fine, it really is. Carmella is a great kid and I want to help her. She's starting to be like…like my surrogate daughter." I said. Ranger smiled.

"Carmella would have been better off with a mother like you in the first place, but still…maybe next time." He did his wolf grin and I felt my cheeks flush red.

"Yeah…maybe." I grinned back, feeling brave.

"I'm glad you're helping me with Carmella. I don't know what I'd do without you." He said seriously with his eyes full of emotion.

"You'll never have to find out. I promise." I smiled and shifted to give him a hug. As I pulled away, I saw his eyes staring at me, almost as though they were looking right into my soul. I moved closer to him and pressed my lips against his. He was surprised at first, then returned the kiss deeply and passionately. Then Joe's face flashed into my mind. I jerked my head back so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.

"Fuck!" I shouted. Ranger jumped to his feet.

"Jesus Steph, I'm sorry." He exclaimed looking deeply ashamed.

"No, it was totally my fault. I shouldn't have…taken advantage." I blurted out.

"Taken advantage?" he asked, sounding amused in spite of the situation.

"Yeah, you were all…well you looked kinda sad. I'm so sorry."

"It's my fault babe, I shouldn't have let you…take advantage. I know you're with Morelli now and you're pregnant, it was just…force of habit. I better go, tell Carmella-"

"Tell Carmella what?" a sleepy voice asked from the edge of the room. We both turned and saw Carmella stood there in her pyjamas and her hair three times it usual size. She looked form Ranger, to me and then back to Ranger.

"You two both look very…flushed or embarrassed, I'm not sure which. You have the same expression that I had when madre caught me and my ex…ewww, were you two just making out? Oh man, there should be an age limit on that!" she exclaimed and padded into the kitchen.

"Don't be silly Princess, of course we weren't'…making out." Ranger said, sounding falsely cheerful. I fake-laughed along.

"Whatever. If you two want some privacy then I'll go back into my bedroom and pretend my old dad is not making out with a girl who's pregnant with someone else's kid. Just keep the noise down." She called form the kitchen, then emerged holding a glass of water and wearing the same expression my mother used to wear when she was disappointed with me. "Stephanie' she'd say 'you've let me down, you've let your dad and your sister down but most importantly, you've let me down. You should be ashamed of yourself, playing with that Morelli boy. You know what they're like." I shuddered at the flash back. It was strange that now I was living with 'that Morelli boy' and was pregnant. Funny how things worked out.

"Carmella, you have nothing to be worried about. Just go back to bed. I just came to tell you that you and Steph can come up to my apartment for breakfast tomorrow morning around 8. I'll see you in the morning." He said, kissed her lightly on the forehead, smiled at me and walked out. Carmella walked over to the door and put all the locks back in place. I lay back down to go to sleep, but suddenly a glass of water came cascading over my head. I sat up and shrieked. Carmella was stood over the sofa with one hand on her hip and the other holding an empty glass.

"What the hell was that for?" I hissed. She glared at me.

"Neither of you can fool me. I know damn well what you and dad were doing. And I don't approve. I think you and dad would be great together because he obviously adores you and from what I've seen I think that you love him too. But we both know that you're with Joe. So make the choice. Either leave Joe or leave dad alone. I know your intentions are probably good and I happen to like you. This may have been what you used to do, drift between the two, but things are very different now and you have to make a choice, if not for your sake then for the baby's. Take it from someone who knows, a home where the parents are constantly screaming at each other is no fun for anyone involved, least of all the kid. You can still be friends with him but I don't want to see either of you get hurt, I really don't. Personally, I know that dad is a great father and loves kids. I'm also aware of the fact that a lot of women find him highly attractive. Joe is also extremely hot but that's all I know about him. Personally, I'm biased because I desperately crave a stable home and I think that you and dad could give me that. And the baby of course. I know that dad would care for it even if it wasn't his. And before you say anything, I know that because he looked after me, even when it was possible that madre may have been cheating on dad before I was born. It did throw a shadow on my paternity, but dad stood by me. He even said a paternity test wasn't necessary but we had one anyway, just to clear it up. But if your heart lies with Joe then you should just ignore everything I just said because I don't know the guy. I'm sure he's great. Plus he came from a big family so he'd be used to kids. I just think you need to make your choice and you need to make it fast. And just for the record, I wouldn't mind having a step brother or sister, just in case you decide on dad. Ok, I've done a lot of talking and I'm tired so I'm going to sleep. I'll get you a towel and new blankets." She walked to the cupboard and threw me new blankets and pillows and a towel to wipe the sofa with.

"Think about what I said. If you can remember all of it, I know I went on a bit. See you in the morning." Carmella walked back into her room and shut the door, extinguishing the tiny glimmer of light that illuminated the room.

I lay in the dark for ages, thinking about everything that Carmella had just said. She was right-she had said a lot. But it was all so significant…and it all added to the already confusing situation. I had to choose. 'But haven't you already chosen?' a voice in my head asked 'what? I don't know do I?' I replied. 'But you live with Joe. Doesn't that mean you've chosen him?' it made a good point. I'd already chosen Joe. Carmella was just taking things the wrong way. That was it. I'd already chosen Joe.

I was woken the next morning by Carmella clomping around the apartment in the outfit she bought yesterday. I groaned and stood up, stumbling slightly. She looked over at me but didn't smile. I sighed, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to get changed. I pulled on my new long sleeved black top with a scooped neckline and the flared chocolate brown chords. I examined myself in the mirror and smiled. I liked the outfit, but I wondered if it was a bit too young for me. I walked out and Carmella looked up at me.

"You look good, the styles suit you, they're understated but cool." She complimented. I smiled.

"I like it, you don't think it looks too, mutton dressed as lamb?" I asked. Carmella shook her hair.

"No, those clothes are ageless. To a certain limit of course." I nodded and we fell into silence. It was 7:45, 15 minutes till breakfast.

"Listen Steph, I'm sorry about what I said last night. I didn't mean to confuse you or have a go. I was just…confused, I guess. I wasn't expecting you two-"

"I know, I'm sorry. But I have chosen Joe. I live with him and…well; we've always had this relationship. Me and your dad are just friends." Carmella nodded.

"Yeah, I guessed as much." She whispered. I looked at her. The last thing I wanted was to upset anyone, least of all Carmella.

"Sweetie, I don't want to hurt anyone. It's easier, I mean, better, it's better this way. Are you ok with me? I mean-"

"Of course I'm ok with you. I was just making sure that you were ok with your future. You know that me and dad will both be here for you." She smiled and looked up at the clock "Come on; let's go up to the apartment." She unlocked the door and stepped out, then jumped backwards and looked at the floor. There was a wreath on the floor, made up of lilies, ivy and blood red roses. Having been to many viewings at Stiva's, I knew what this was. A funeral wreath. Carmella stared at it in shock, then plucked the card from it. She read it, then yelped and dropped it on the floor as though it had burned her. I picked up the card and looked at it. Written on the card in red ink were the words 'Have a nice life, for what's left of it little angel'. Carmella collapsed on the floor and starting whimpering.

"Oh God" she whispered "This can't be happening" I ran over to the intercom and buzzed Ranger.

"Yo." He answered.

"Ranger I think you need to get down here. Someone sent some flowers…its worse then it sounds. Just get down here." I hung up and ran back to Carmella.

"Carmella what is it? Do you know who sent these?" I asked. She was shaking and sobbing.

"I didn't think he'd know where dad lived. How could he know?" she whispered.

"Who? How could who know?" I asked desperately. Ranger ran in closely followed by Tank. He looked down at Carmella and skidded to her side.

"Baby what is it? What's wr-" he stopped as he saw the flowers. "Who sent these?" he asked coldly. I shrugged.

"They were left outside the door." He looked at Tank.

"Go to the control room. Look back on the surveillance tapes; see if you can find any pictures of anyone coming in to the building. Find out how they got in, how they got out, what time they came in, anything." Tank nodded and silently left the room. Ranger looked at Carmella.

"You know who sent this, don't you?" but it was more of a statement then a question. She nodded and sniffed.

"Who?" Ranger asked. She looked up at him through bleary eyes.

"I can't be sure…it may have just been a…a lucky guess. But…but 'little angel' is what J…James used to call me." she whispered. Ranger growled quietly and stood up. He tapped the intercom.

"Tank…look out for James or any of his associates."

"Crap, it wasn't James was it? How the fuck did he get in the building?"

"We can't be sure but just look for him." He disconnected and walked back to us. I stared questioningly at him.

"Um…who is James?" I asked quietly. Ranger looked at me and sighed.

"He's-"

"He's my step dad. My ex, my mother's husband. This is such a mess. None of this was supposed to happen. Moving here was supposed to be a new start-a whole new life. But he found me. How? Does madre know where you live?" She asked Ranger. Ranger shook his head.

"I don't know how she could. All of the legal things are being done through our lawyers." He sighed "This is so fucked up." Carmella sobbed.

"It's all my fault." She whispered. Ranger crouched down next to her.

"No it's not. This is just…it's just complicated" The intercom buzzed and Tank's voice filled the room.

"Hey boss, you might want to come and look at this."

We all ran up to the control room and found Tank and Bobby staring at a computer screen. We crowded around the monitor. It showed a person walking into the building wearing all black and a balaclava and carrying the wreath. The time in the corner said 7.35. He walked up to the receptionist and stun-gunned them.

"That was twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes. It would have taken him about five minutes to get in and out again. So he might have still been in the building when I found the wreath." Carmella whispered

"Yeah, only there's no footage of this person leaving." Tank replied. Ranger stared at him.

"That can't be right. Have you checked the tapes from all the exits?" Tank nodded.

"Of course I have, we've checked everything. The only room where there's no camera is…"

"Fuck!" Ranger shouted and took off out of the room and down the corridor. Carmella grabbed a gun off the table and ran after him. I stared in shock at Tank.

"Which room?" I asked. He stood and made sure his gun was loaded, then he handed me a gun from a cabinet.

"Carmella's apartment." He replied and we both ran after Ranger and Carmella.

They were stood against the wall on either side of the apartment door, guns drawn and both looking very threatening. Tank looked at Carmella's outfit and shook his head in disbelief.

"Christ Carmella, it's the middle of November!" he exclaimed. She grinned

"What? You don't like it?" she asked innocently. I could see his point, a mini skirt and a halter neck top, both black of course, were probably not the most practical of clothes to be wearing in this situation, let alone this season. She stuck her key card into the lock and the door swung open. Ranger jumped in first, then Tank, then Carmella and me at the back, praying I wouldn't need to use this gun. I looked down at it; a Glock. Great. I didn't even know how to use a Glock. Oh well, if it came to the worst then I could just throw it at my assailant like I did with Homer Ramos. Although that had resulted in me being shot…anyway, now was not the time to dwell. I heard a scream from Carmella's bedroom and, being closest to the door, ran in. Carmella was being held in place by a guy dressed totally in black and wearing a balaclava. He had her arm twisted behind her back and a knife to her throat.

"Why me?" she sobbed "Why couldn't dad or Tank searched this room? Why am I always the one who gets grabbed by the psycho?"

"Don't worry, it used to be me. Women just have a damsel in distress air about them. You'd never catch your dad or Tank in this kind of situation."

"In fairness, that's probably because they'd have shot this guy three times before he could even get close enough to knife them." She reasoned. I nodded.

"That is true."

"Excuse me" the intruder growled "but could I bring the attention back to me?"

"Sorry" Carmella and I murmured. Tank and Ranger ran into the room and stood either side of me.

"Let her go" Ranger growled

"This is nothing to do with you Mañoso, this is between me and the girl." The intruder hissed. Carmella whined and the knife got pressed harder to her neck. A little trickle of blood rolled down her neck and towards her top. In all honesty, she looked more worried about getting blood on her new top then she did about her life. The intruder started to edge towards the open window and stepped out onto the mini balcony, still keeping a firm grasp on Carmella.

"I'll let your whore of a daughter go this time, but if you pull anything I'll be back. With a bigger knife. And a gun." He added, obviously new to the whole threatening thing. I could see Carmella desperately trying to hold in laughter and probably a snide remark. He loosened his grip on Carmella and she spun around and pulled his balaclava off. He bellowed, covered his face with his hands and jumped off the balcony. We all ran to look over the edge. He had landed in a bush and was struggling to get out, with one hand still firmly covering his face. Ranger went back in and intercom-ed for assistance, but the guy managed to wiggle out the bush and took off down the street.

"Did you see his face?" Tank asked Carmella. She shook her head.

"No, he was frantic to cover it. Maybe he has a face deformity, like the Phantom of the Opera or something. That would make sense. But what would the Phantom of the Opera be doing in Trenton?" she mused. We all gave her the look generally reserved for the mad.

"Yes, that is the real subject in question here." Tank muttered and climbed back into the room.

"No, it can't have been the Phantom; he was born in like, 1860 or sometime like that. He'd be dead by now. Plus, he lives in Paris." Carmella announced.

"Yes, that's why it couldn't be the Phantom." Ranger muttered sarcastically.

"Well, at least that's one suspect off the list." Tank smiled, obviously trying not to laugh. Carmella was a lot like me when I was a kid, logic escaped her. The fact that the Phantom lived in Paris was the reason it couldn't have been him, not the fact that he was a fictional character…but for Carmella, anything was possible. She smiled absently.

"I didn't recognize the voice before anyone asks. But something struck me as odd. I'm guessing we all picked up that he wasn't professional but there was something else. He told dad that it was nothing to do with him and it was just between me and whoever he was, but then when he said he was going to let me go, he addressed dad despite the fact he said it had nothing to do with him."

"Well spotted, Batgirl." I smiled. Ranger nodded.

"Yeah, that is weird. Also, he called you my 'whore daughter'. Who else calls you that?" Recognition spread across Carmella's face.

"I didn't notice…but she wouldn't-would she?" she asked. Ranger shook his head.

"She wouldn't know how, but you know who else knows she calls you that?" Carmella smiled.

"Of course, that was all she called me at the family dinner at thanksgiving, he would have picked up on it." Me and Tank were exchanging confused glances. It was nice that I wasn't the only one out of the loop…for once.

"Excuse me? But who are we talking about? Who calls you a whore?" I asked. Carmella smiled grimly.

"My Grandma."

"You're Grandma? She does not sound like a nice lady."

"She's not, she's an evil witch." Ranger growled.

"I'm taking it you mean Eva's mom, because I've met your mother and there is nothing evil about her." Tank grinned. Ranger almost smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, Eva's mom hates me and Carmella. She says Carmella is a disgusting whore-child of evil."

"Yes, Nanna Castillo is very poetic." Carmella grinned. I was shocked.

"But…why would anyone say that about their family?" I asked.

"Because Carmella was conceived out of wedlock. We, that is Eva and I, had no intention of marriage but when we discovered Eva was pregnant our families, more Eva's then mine, pushed us into marriage 'for the child's sake'. Eva's mother thought I'd taken advantage of her daughter, despite the fact that Eva is three years older then me. And she thinks Carmella is the manifestation of evil because of the whole conceived out of wedlock thing."

"Plus I threatened to turn her bald using black magic at the last family reunion." Carmella grinned.

"You didn't?!" I asked, both shocked and amazed.

"I did. She called me a whore one time too many. So I threatened to turn her bald and then pointed out that she must have the counter curse somewhere in her evil stash, being a witch and all. She hasn't spoken directly to me since." She and Ranger laughed. I could see the corners to Tank's mouth twitching. I couldn't believe how mean this old lady was. Tank threw an arm around Carmella's shoulders.

"Ok CM, you're not to badly shook up are you?" she shook her head "Good, because you need to keep busy so you're going to help out in the control room. Any objections?"

"I'd rather go on a bust and kick some ass." She muttered "But I'm guessing that's not about to happen." Tank nodded.

"Correct little one, not a chance in hell."

The rest of the day was spent 'helping' Carmella in the office. By helping, I mean we built a fortress out of boxes and various other objects and defended it using staple guns. It was really quite fun. After Tank confiscated our staple guns, we built a neat catapult which was demolished by Bobby and Lester wearing bins on their heads and invading the fortress. Though we guarded it well, we didn't have enough fire power to overpower the intruders. Then Ranger walked in, just as the evil Lester and Bobby were declaring victory by dancing and making obscene noises. Carmella saw him and folded her arms.

"Honestly you two, you are so immature. Stephie and I are trying to work and you are just making that constant din. You need to grow up." She scolded, very convincingly. Bobby and Lester took the bins of their heads and glared. I could see Ranger grinning.

"Nice try sweetheart, but you forgot about the surveillance cameras."

"Darn, foiled." She grinned back. I smiled and leaned against the desk.

"I hate to break this up but I should be heading home, my parents are expecting me for dinner." I announced.

"Oh yeah dad, what's for dinner? I am starving. These guys wouldn't give us proper food; they just kept trying to feed us tofu crap. I mean tofu; I ask you, it's not even food. It's just processed junk with some extra crap thrown in. A growing girl, such as me, needs fries and pineapple upside down cake!" I grinned and nodded and nodded in agreement.

"Well, do you want to come? I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind. Joe's working late so…well I need a ride home, so I guess it'd kill two birds with one stone. Though Ranger has met my family so…" But Carmella jumped in.

"No that'd be great, I'm sure it'd beat rabbit food ten fold! Come on dad, it'll be fun." Ranger sighed.

"I suppose so. As long as you Grandmother doesn't shoot anything. Or start checking me out. Or make obscene comments about my…various parts of my anatomy." I couldn't guarantee any of these things. A week ago, me, Grandma and Valerie had had an in depth conversation about how fine Ranger's body was. Carmella snorted

"You sure think a lot of yourself if even old ladies can't resist you." She grinned.

"True, but you haven't met Stephanie's grandmother. She makes Nanna Castillo look like a sweet, sane old lady." Ranger muttered. Carmella gulped and I couldn't help but grin. It'd be fun to watch Ranger squirm for a couple of hours.

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Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. Thanks for reading. Keep all the reviews coming. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Arigato!


	12. Goddess of Air

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Ranger pulled up outside my parents' house and looked at it.

"Y'know, I think Tank might need some help with…surveillance." He muttered. I grinned.

"Nice try. Come on, park the car. We've only got five minutes till dinner and I shall not be responsible for dinner being ruined." I commanded. Ranger shut off the engine and climbed out of the Porsche. Carmella jumped out and looked to the door of the house. Grandma Mazur and my mother were stood there.

"I'm guessing that's your mom and your grandma." Carmella said, statement more then a question. I nodded and we walked up to the door.

"Hi mom, is it ok if Carmella and Ranger have tea here?" I asked knowing the answer already. Any good burg housewife would instantly accept extra guests. It was an unwritten law. She beamed at Carmella.

"Of course, come in." she stood to one side and ushered us in. Grandma Mazur examined Carmella.

"Are you a bounty hunter as well?" she asked.

"No Ma'am, I'm only fifteen." She smiled politely. Her manners were impeccable.

"Oh. Then who are you?" Grandma Mazur questioned suspiciously.

"Carmella is Ranger's daughter." I explained. Carmella smiled and nodded.

"Well isn't that something. I wouldn't have thought of you as someone who'd have kids." She said to Ranger.

"Just Carmella." He smiled politely.

"Valerie and the kids are here. It's like a farm, what with Mary Alice galloping everything and Angie reciting the periodic table." Grandma Mazur sighed and led us to the dinning room. When we walked in Mary Alice neighed at us.

"What is the symbol for potassium?" Angie asked.

"K" Carmella replied instantly. Ranger and I stared at her in surprise. "What? Is that the wrong answer?" she asked in a panicked tone. I shrugged. Angie pulled out her periodic table.

"No, it's right. Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Carmella. Are you Angie?" Carmella replied. Angie nodded.

"I'm Mary Alice and I'm a beautiful palomino horse." Mary Alice announced, as she galloped on Ranger's foot. He winced but didn't make a noise.

"Are you?" Carmella asked, crouching to her level "That's cool. You even have a pony tail." She smiled, indicating Mary Alice's hair. Mary Alice neighed and galloped off. I heard footsteps thundering down the stairs and Valerie entered with Lisa, popping her boob back into her top.

"Uh, this kid is so greedy, crying every three min-omigod Ranger, I had no idea you were…who are you?" she asked Carmella. Carmella's polite smile made another appearance.

"I'm Carmella Mañoso, Ranger's daughter." She introduced herself.

"Aunt Stephanie, you didn't say that Ranger had a daughter." Angie said quizzically.

"No, but you and mommy and Grammy said that he was like Batman and that he had a really great ass. You said he had a body to die for. Then Grammy said that she bet he had a really big wil-" Mary Alice said sweetly.

"Umm, Why don't you sit down dear?" my mother quickly interrupted. I could see Carmella shaking with silent laughter and Ranger grinning annoyingly. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. Everyone took a seat and I quickly sat down between Ranger and Carmella. My mother pulled the lid off the casserole in the centre of the table and motioned for everyone to begin. Just then, Albert ran in.

"Hi, I'm sorry I'm late but there was a hit and run near the office. I went to the hospital to see if my services were wanted by anyone-wowzah, who are you?" he asked. Carmella smiled.

"I'm Carmella." She said and took a bite of the casserole. He looked at her, mouth slightly open, then sat down opposite her.

"Carmella is Ranger's daughter." Valerie hissed "So stop staring." Carmella smiled. In fairness, Carmella was probably closer to Albert's age then Valerie was.

"Oh, hello Ranger. Have you had a good day? Did you arrest anyone? Do you know anyone who might need a lawyer?" He asked. Ranger smiled.

" Nope, no arrests and I don't think anyone will need a lawyer. Sorry." He replied. Albert sighed.

"Oh well, it was worth asking." He helped himself to some potatoes. My mother smiled at Carmella.

"So Carmella, how long have you been here?"

"Um…almost three weeks I think. I'm staying with dad."

"Oh, so will you be going to school here?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm starting Trenton High on Monday. This reminds me, Dad I'll need to go shopping tomorrow." I heard Ranger groan softly. The room was filled with a cell phone ringing. Ranger cursed softly, pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked into the hall.

"Yo…you have got to be kidding…no, I suppose that'll have to be ok…right, one o clock. Later." He walked back in and sat down.

"Do you have to go?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No, but the hearing's been moved to Saturday. This is not good. As long as we can keep the thing dragging on then we should be ok. Tank's trying to dig up anything he can on Eva and James. There's also the fact that Carmella's been enrolled into school, that should count for something." He looked to Carmella. "Is that ok?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I don't really have a choice do I? I'll need a new suit. I think one from Prada should suffice."

"Yeah right." He muttered.

"What's all this about a court hearing?" Grandma Mazur asked.

"It's a custody hearing with Carmella's mother. If we win, then Carmella stays." Everyone nodded.

"Will Carmella's opinion get taken into account?" My mother asked.

"It should, but if they feel that Carmella would be better off with her mother, then that's what they'll demand." Ranger asked.

"What will you do if they put you with your mother?" Grandma Mazur asked Carmella.

"Well, I will probably say something very colourful and then I shall skip the country." She replied calmly. Everyone stared at her in shock.

"Could you do that?" Valerie asked. Carmella nodded.

"Easily, I'd have Lester and Bobby get me some fake ID and Tank'd get me accommodation and a plane ticket."

"Is that the actual plan?" I asked Ranger. He nodded.

"If worst comes to worst then it's the only plan. Ideally I'd like to drag the hearings till her birthday, then she could legally choose, but as it's in May, that's not likely."

"Why don't you have a part in the plan?" I asked.

"Because he can't incriminate himself. He could get jailed if he helped me skip. Instead, he'd fly out a couple of weeks after I'd gone. Then we'd wait till I'm 16 and come back. Problem solved." Carmella replied. My family were staring at them in shock.

"I'd appreciate it if this conversation was forgotten and never recalled. For legal purposes you understand" Ranger requested. We all nodded. Albert pulled a couple of cards from his pocket and handed one to Carmella and one to Ranger.

"Here are my details in case you ever need a lawyer." Another stunned silence followed.

"Does anyone want desert?" I asked.

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The rest of the meal passed quite smoothly. The only memorable part was Grandma asking Ranger if he'd strip for cash. Carmella had almost past out from laughing too much. I'd turned as red as a tomato. Ranger looked like he was thinking about laughing. Ranger and I started the washing up while Carmella taught Angie how to do a French plat.

"So…you think I have a body to die for, do you?" Ranger asked casually. I could feel my face burning up.

"Oh God…" I muttered "I hoped you'd forgotten about that." Ranger tipped his head back and did a proper laugh. It would have been contagious had I not been so mortified. He slung an arm around my shoulders.

"Don't worry about it babe, I'm flattered. I'm just a bit scared that you were discussing it with your Grandma."

"I can't control her. I swear, I've tried." He laughed softly and kissed my lightly on the forehead. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. We both spun around and saw Carmella leaning against the door frame. She was like Ranger; she could always find something to lean against.

"Not interrupting am I?" She asked. We both took a step away from each other, causing her to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Steph, your mom wants to know if you're going to some viewing, because your Grandma needs a lift." I shook my head.

"Nope, going straight home. Actually lets go, before I get roped into viewing duty." I said to Ranger, who nodded and steered me from the kitchen with his hand against the small of my back.

"Oh Carmella, I don't suppose you'd mind babysitting for us on Tuesday night, it's just that me and Albert want to go out for dinner somewhere, y'know, pre-wedding." Valerie asked as we walked into the living room.

"Yeah sure, no problem. We'll have fun, won't we girls?" she smiled at Angie and Mary Alice who both grinned and nodded manically.

"Will you give me pretty hair?" Mary Alice asked "Because I have a dressage competition soon." Carmella nodded.

"Of course, you'll be the prettiest horse there." She replied. Mary Alice grinned and galloped off.

"Is it ok to encourage the horse thing?" Carmella asked me quietly. I nodded.

"Yeah, we've kind of given up on stopping her. We figure she'll just grow out of it." I replied. "Anyway, we're going now." I announced to the room. My dad gave me a vague wave but kept his gaze fixed on the television. My mother and Grandma Mazur walked us to the door.

"Good luck at the hearing." My mom said to Carmella who smiled and thanked her for dinner.

"Are you sure about the stripping?" Grandma Mazur asked Ranger.

"I'm sure. But if I ever quit being a bounty hunter, I'll be sure to keep stripping in mind." He replied. I could see Carmella starting to laugh again.

"You should. You'd be very popular." Grandma Mazur informed him. He nodded, thanked mom for tea and walked to the car with Carmella.

"Stephanie are you living with this man? Because I thought you were happy with Joe. If you're living with him but having babies with Joe it will start awful rumours." Mom asked, wringing her hands.

"Mom, I still with Joe. Ranger and I are just friends. I stayed last night because Carmella was freaked about…stuff. And I am having **A** baby with Joe. Just one. Not babies plural. I'll see you soon." I walked down the car and got in next to Ranger. He grinned at me.

"Am I sullying your image?" he asked. I sighed.

"Nope, just starting a whole new chain of Burg rumours." I replied. Carmella was sprawled across the back seat, messing about with her mobile.

"You were good with the girls." I said to her. She shrugged.

"I'm good with kids. We have a massive extended family, every Christmas there's a new baby at the table. You learn to tolerate them." She smiled. I nodded.

"It was nice of you to agree to baby-sit for Valerie." Another shrug.

"It gets me money. Money means clothes. And ice cream." She replied. We drove in silence for a bit. Ranger was in his driving zone.

"Hey Stephie, are you going to come on Saturday? You could meet the mother from hell. And offer moral support of course." Carmella asked suddenly. I looked at Ranger.

"Would that be ok?" I asked. He nodded,

"I don't see why it wouldn't be. James comes to all the hearings; I see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to sit in." I turned back to Carmella.

"Well then sure."  
"Cool. Are you coming shopping tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sweetheart, are you aware that Steph and I have to work?" Ranger asked.

"So pay her as my bodyguard. Sorted. But send Tank along as well. Nothing personal Stephie, it's just that Tank looks a hell of a lot more threatening then you." She grinned. I smiled.

"Yeah I'll come with you."

"Cool, we'll pick you up around midday. Dad'll give you some money for it." She instructed. Ranger made a small whining sound in his throat.

"You're bleeding me dry kiddo." He muttered.

"You can't fool me, I know you have unlimited amounts of cash." Carmella murmured, engrossed in her phone again. We pulled up outside Joe's house and I jumped out the car. Carmella got out to help me with my bags. There was a light on the kitchen, which meant one of three things; really dumb burglars, Joe was home or Bob had finally learned how to use the light switch. It had to be sent that while the third would be the most annoying, the second was probably the most likely answer. As we approached the front door, it was opened by Joe. Yep, answer number three. I smiled at him and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"Hey I'm back!" I announced. Talk about stating the obvious.

"Ok Stephie, I'll se you tomorrow." Carmella smiled and handed the bags she was carrying to Joe. "You shouldn't let Steph carry stuff in her condition." She told him, then ran down the path and jumped in the car.

"That girl is priceless." Joe grinned. I nodded in agreement, she really was.

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I woke up the next morning thinking I had definitely made the right choice as regards Ranger and Joe. It was already 10.30. Rats, I'd over slept. The late night-early morning schedule I had going was doing nothing for me. Joe had already gone to work. I stumbled into the bathroom and switched the shower on. I happened to glance at my reflection in the mirror. Yikes, truly terrifying. If I was lucky, I'd have time to do the full on hair thing after I got out the shower. As I was showering, I glanced down at my stomach. Maybe there was a bit more, but I wasn't expecting a vast change as I was only about two months gone. I felt awful to admit it, but I'd almost forgotten about the baby, what with everything happening. What kind of a mother was I? What if my kid took after Mary Alice and decided to be a farmyard animal. Don't get me wrong, Mary Alice was cute in small supplies, but I wasn't sure I could cope with her full time. There was so much still to do. Oh well, I still had about seven months, well maybe five and a bit before I became practically immobile. I climbed out the shower and wrapped myself in a towel, then felt a wave of nausea sweep through my body. I ran to the toilet and threw up. Gross, I'd forgotten about the morning sickness. It wasn't regular thankfully, but it was still pretty icky. I stumbled back into the bedroom and looked at the clock. 11.00. Ok, one hour. I selected a long sleeved blue top and some loose fitting jeans. It seemed to me to be a granny-pant day, what with all baby thoughts. I managed to make my hair look slightly more acceptable using a hair dryer and some gel. 11.45. I selected a bag and trotted downstairs in search of food. Left over lasagne, perfect. I finished my nutritious breakfast and ran upstairs to clean my teeth, when there was a knock at the door. I spat out my toothpaste and ran back downstairs. I opened the door and almost got the shock of my life when I saw Grandma Bella stood there. Without Joe's mother. Ok, there was no one to control her. This was frightening. She glared at me.

"Grandma Bella, what a nice surprise." I smiled, hoping it didn't look to much like a grimace.

"I heard you had left my grandson for some Latino." She growled.

"A vicious rumour." I explained. It would be vicious when I found out who'd told Bella.

"It is bad enough that you are having this baby out of the sacrament of marriage, but to leave the father would be unacceptable."

"Yes I quite agree. Well as you can see, I haven't gone anywhere." I said as politely as I could. I then noticed the black SUV roll to a stop on the road outside the house and Carmella hopped out. I felt a rush of relief, Carmella would save me. She walked up to the door and smiled.

"Ready to go Stephie?" She asked, ignoring Bella. Bad move.

"Who are you?" Bella hissed menacingly.

"I'm Carmella Mañoso. Who are you?" she asked.

"It is none of your business who I am." Bella replied indignantly.

"Whatever" Carmella shrugged "Come on S, Tank's waiting in the car." I snagged my bag and stepped out the door, locking it behind me.

"Sorry Grandma Bella, I have to go now. I hope I'll see you soon." I lied.

"I had a vision" Bella growled "I saw you and your baby alone, living on the street because of your cheating." I stared at her.

"It wouldn't happen. If you're going to fake a prediction at least make it reasonable. Stephie and the baby'd never be homeless. She'd either move back in with her parents or she could live with me and dad. Sorry lady but we have to go." Carmella replied. Bella looked shocked. Apparently no one had questioned one of her predictions before.

"Why you ignorant little…I think I may put the eye on you." Bella threatened. Carmella looked unimpressed.

"Oh yawn, is that supposed to scare me?" she said lazily. Tank had now joined us, in case Bella launched an attack on me or Carmella I guess.

"You should fear the eye, you ignorant brat. It is the most fearful of curses and-"

"Excuse me? Are you threatening me with your old country magic? Well two play at that game. If you try to curse me with your dark magic, I'll have to summon the Cuban Goddess of…of Air and she will not be impressed that you tried to curse one of her country's children. She will put a pox on your throat and an impenetrable darkness will be cast over your life!" Carmella hissed in a dark voice. Her eyes had gone dark and were staring, unblinking, at Grandma Bella. Bella looked like she was about to spit at Carmella but thought better of it. She simply muttered something under her breath in Italian under her breath and walked off. Tank grinned and threw one arm over my shoulders and wrapped another around Carmella's waist.

"Come on then, child of darkness, let's hit the shops."

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The mall wasn't particularly busy, which was brilliant for us. Tank proved to be surprisingly funny. When we went into Victoria's Secret, he was modelling underwear for us and asking us if he thought red was his colour. We were bent double from laughing by the end of it. Carmella had bought school supplies and the equivalent of two new wardrobes of clothes. "One for school and one for casual" She explained to me as we came out of her favourite shop, "Duh, it rocks!" Pacific Sunshine. To be quite honest, both wardrobes looked the same to me. At around four we decided to go to the food court and have a late lunch, courtesy of RangeMan of course. While Tank went to get food, I sank back into my baby thoughts. Amy would be a nice name for a girl, maybe Sophie. Jack was a cute name for a boy.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Carmella asked. Damn, apparently she'd inherited her dad's ESP as well.

"No, I was just thinking about it."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" She asked.

"No, I want it to be a surprise. I'm hoping for a girl though." I admitted.

"Yeah, I'd want a girl. What about the name…Olivia, or Lydia."

"Hey, they're kinda cute!" I said. They really were, I hadn't even thought of them.

"What are you doing about the surname. Will the baby be a Plum or a Morelli?" Carmella asked. Shit, I hadn't thought of that.

"It'll probably be a double surname, like Plum-Morelli." I reasoned.

"Sound's good." Tank announced as he sat the tray of food down. Carmella grabbed her sub and sunk her teeth into it ravenously.

"Damn, this is a good sub!" She grinned "Hey, don't look at me like that, I missed breakfast!" she said after seeing the looks on mine and Tank's faces.

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We walked out the mall and into the car park about an hour later after we were sure we had everything needed. Carmella was skipping merrily ahead and Tank pulled out the car remote and bleeped it open.

"So, are you looking forward to motherhood?" Tank asked. I didn't get a chance to answer because the car exploded.

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Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! I hope you enjoyed this instalment and please review! Sorry if people are confused about the whole Joe and Ranger situation, but I assure you everything will (nearly) clear up soon! Arigato!


	13. Round One

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Tank moved to cover me, but we were quite a way away from the blast. I saw Carmella get lifted off her feet and thrown backwards by the blast. She scrambled to her feet and dusted dirt off her clothes.

"What the hell was that about?" she screamed. The faint sound of sirens was barely audible in the distance. Amazingly, she still had a firm grip on her shopping bags. Tank ran up to her and made her sit back down.

"Tank I am fine, I swear. I just got knocked on my ass. I am just fine. My shopping is also fine."  
"Just don't move until the ambulance gets here. Steph could you call Ran-wait, no need." Tank said and stood as a sleek black Porsche rolled into the lot. Ranger jumped out the car and ran over to us.

"What the hell happened? Carmella are you ok?" He asked as he ran to her side.

"Yeah, I'm fine but Tank won't let me stand up." Carmella moaned. Ranger took her shopping bags and put them in his car.

"It's ok, I saw an ambulance coming." He assured her.

"I don't need a freaking ambulance. I need to get off this gross floor!" She whined. Sure enough, two cop cars whipped into the lot followed by an ambulance. The same paramedics that had dealt with Ranger got out and looked at Carmella.

"You again? What is it with you and car accidents?" one of them asked, grinning.

"It's not my fault and I am fine." Carmella replied, stood up and fell down again.

"Ok kiddo, in the ambulance." The paramedic commanded and helped Carmella in the ambulance.

"Steph needs to get checked out as well. She's pregnant." Ranger informed the paramedic. I glared.

"I am fine. I was stood here and Tank covered me. I do not need to get checked out." I insisted. Then Joe's cop car drove into the lot. He saw me and ran to my side.

"I should have known you'd be involved." He grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"It really wasn't my fault. I wasn't even closest to the car." I said. The paramedic walked up to me.

"Come on, get in the ambulance." He instructed.

"I'm telling you, I'm fi-" I started protesting again, but Joe pushed me gently towards the ambulance.

"Just have a check up, make sure everything's fine. Please" He pleaded. I sighed and got in the ambulance. Carmella was being secured to a stretcher and was swearing at the paramedics in Spanish. Ranger was watching in amusement.

"Come on kid, just put the oxygen mask on" one of the paramedics pleaded.

"¡Puedes besar mi culo, tu gilipollas!" She shouted at him. Ranger laughed.

"What did she say?" I asked him. He grinned.

"I think she said 'kiss my ass you wanker'. That's a rough translation." He replied. I grinned. Carmella really was priceless. The ambulance doors were shut and we sped off to Trenton General Hospital.

I was discharged about half an hour after they confirmed my suspicions; I was perfectly fine. Carmella stormed to meet me a few minutes later.

"It took them thirty minutes to tell me I was perfectly fine. Gilipollas." She muttered. Ranger and Joe were waiting for us in the family waiting area.

"Assholes. They are all complete assholes. Thirty minutes to tell me I was fine. I'd been telling them that the whole time!" She ranted at Ranger. He grinned.

"I still don't think it was fair to call the paramedic a wanker." He said. She grinned.

"Well it's a fact." She laughed.

"Ok, we need to get to the courthouse at around 12.30 at the latest tomorrow. Steph, do you want us to pick you up at around 12.10?" Ranger asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Will I need to wear a suit?" Ranger nodded. That might be a problem, I wasn't sure my suit would fit over my pregnant belly. I hadn't worn it in about seven months, so it may not have fit over my stomach even if I wasn't pregnant. I climbed into Joe's car and waved goodbye to Ranger and Carmella. Joe was silent as we drove home. We walked into the house and were almost bowled down by Bob. Joe took him for a quick walk, while I heated up the lasagne. What a relationship. I was just dishing it out when Joe and Bob walked back in. We ate in silence for a few minutes before Joe asked.

"What's happening tomorrow?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm going to Carmella's custody hearing." I replied.

"Don't you think you've been spending a little too much time with Carmella and Ranger?" he asked, trying to sound casual but he had a white knuckle grip on his fork.

"No, not really. Ranger is my friend and Carmella's a great kid and she needs me."

"Are you sure she needs you? Or is it just that you want her to need you."

"Joe, the girl is going through hell. I'm just supporting her. I'm sorry if you can't see that." I said coolly and stood to put my plate on the side.

"Well lately you've been spending more time with them then you have at home."

"How would you know? You're hardly ever at home." I muttered.

"What?!" Joe yelled. I turned to look at him. Uh oh, his eye was twitching and the big vein on his forehead was sticking out.

"Well, it's true…um…" I muttered, not really knowing where to go from here.

"You're the one that spends every waking second with Ranger and his stupid daughter. I'm the one that waits for you at home, wondering if you're actually going to come back to me or stay with Ranger!" he shouted. I felt my mouth drop open.

"Why would I stay with Ranger? He's my friend, yeah a close friend but I'm having a child with you." I replied, feeling my throat dry up.

"Yeah, well how can I be sure that the baby is actually mine?" Joe asked. I stared at him in shock and felt tears welling up in my eyes. Joe shut his mouth; apparently realising he'd gone too far. He took a step towards me and held out an arm.

"Steph I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did. You aren't even sure the baby is yours. Well maybe I'll just go and stay with Ranger and his stupid daughter because at least neither of them question me or doubt me and they both care for me and they trust me." I shouted back and stormed upstairs. I pulled my duffel bag out and threw some clothes in it. This time I was sure I wasn't overreacting. This time my leaving was justified. I walked back downstairs, grabbed my car keys and Rex's cage and walked out the house. I could hear Joe calling me but I just ignored him and kept walking. I loaded Rex into the passenger seat and walked around to the driver's door. Joe ran and held the door to try and keep it from closing.

"Cupcake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please don't go." He begged. I simply glared, kicked him the knee and slammed the door shut while he was off balance. I knew it was predictable, but I drove to Ranger's office building. I hoped that he and Carmella were still living here and hadn't moved into another house. I drove into the underground garage, parked the car and burst into tears. I blame the hormones; they're all out of balance. Stupid hormones. I heard a tap on the car window. I looked up and saw Carmella looking at me. She smiled and opened the door.

"What's up Stephie? She asked kindly and I started sobbing uncontrollably. She crouched down and wrapped and arm around my shoulder.

"Shhh…it's ok. Come on, you can stay here for the night. I'll get one of the guys to come and get your stuff. Stay here." She ran to the other side of the garage and hit the intercom.

"Tank its Carmella. Can you come down here and help Steph with her stuff?"

"Sure thing little one, I'll be there in a minute." Carmella dialled off and ran back to me.

"Come on, out the car." She commanded gently and supported me.

"I'm sorry to be acting like this…" I whimpered. Carmella gave me a hug.

"No worries, I've acted worse. I think you can have Dad's apartment tonight, he won't be back until about five in the morning and I doubt he'll be sleeping then."

"How come you came down here?" I asked, looking at her through bleary eyes.

"I was helping Tank in the control room and we saw you on the surveillance cameras." She explained, indicating the camera's in the garage.

"Helping Tank?" I asked suspiciously.

"Ok, I was spinning around on one of the cars and generally getting in the way." She looked in the car. "Do you only have the hamster and the bag?" she asked, sounding shocked and slightly repulsed. I nodded.

"I packed in a hurry."

"Which leads to the question, why are you here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, I'm just wondering." She asked and grabbed my bag out the car.

"I had an argument with Joe. A really big argument. He said I was spending too much time…away."

"You mean, spending too much time with me and dad." Carmella smiled. I nodded apologetically.

"Yeah, and then I said he was never at home and he went mad and said that he couldn't even be sure the baby was his." I explained. Carmella stared in shock.

"What a fuckwit." She muttered and then looked up at me "Sorry, I know he's your boyfriend or whatever but he is behaving like a prick. Do you want me to have him shot? It wouldn't be a problem, deadly ninja assassins are just a phone call away." She grinned. I raised an eyebrow.

"Ninja?" I asked sceptically.

"Ok, so they're not ninjas, but if you want I could get them to dress up as ninjas."

"Not it's ok. I don't think I want him assassinated." I couldn't help grinning. Tank walked up to us.

"Alright there bomber?" he grinned at me. I smiled weakly back at him. He pulled Rex out the car and shut the door behind him.

"Is this all?" he asked. I nodded and we walked up to the main building.

"I told Stephie she could have Dad's apartment, since he's away for most the night and it'd be more comfortable then the sofa." Carmella explained to Tank who nodded and smiled at me.

"Another argument with Joe?" he asked. I sighed and nodded. "That guy doesn't know how lucky he is to have you." Tank said, sounding slightly angry.

"Thanks." I whispered. We got in the elevator and went up to the seventh floor. Tank put Rex on the kitchen counter patted me lightly on the back, ruffled Carmella's hair and walked out, calling "G'night bombshell." Carmella walked over to the intercom.

"Ella its Carmella, I'm on the seventh floor. Could you do some tea for me and Ms Plum? Something nice and unhealthy. And could you see if we have any Ben and Jerry's left?"

"Certainly Miss Mañoso. However, your father asked me to tell you that if you keep eating all this junk food then you will get fat." Ella's voice answered. Carmella laughed.

"Well then it's a good thing we have a gym in this building. Oh and remind dad that unlike him, we are not all half rabbit." Ella laughed this time.

"I'll be up in about thirty minutes."

"Ok, thank you Ella." Carmella grinned and disconnected. I looked at the wall clock. Seven o clock. Carmella came and sat by me on the sofa.

"Don't worry about Joe. Tank's right, he doesn't know how lucky he is to have you. But you don't have to worry about a thing. Ella is at your beck and call 24 hours a day and you have the merry men to look after you. You're in one of the most secure buildings in Trenton. Though judging its competition, that's not saying much." She smiled and switched the TV on. We watched 'The Simpsons' until the food came. Ella bustled in and smiled at me.

"Hello Ms Plum, it's nice to see you again." She beamed and set up the food. Carmella thanked her and she walked over. We walked over to the table and sat down.

"Oh score, Ben and Jerry's!" Carmella grinned and out the ice cream in the fridge to soften it up. We pulled the covers off our food and I could feel my mouth watering at the sight of the fat fries and the huge cheeseburgers. To balance things out, there was a selection of salad at the side of the plate. The burger was delicious. Carmella grinned when we were finished. I'd left one of the fat French fries on the plate to avoid getting fat.

"You can eat that, you're eating for two." She smiled. I grinned back and ate it happily. I looked at her clean plate.

"Ok, I'm eating for two, what's your excuse?"

"I'm a growing girl. I need my energy."

"If you get any more energetic, you'll explode." I laughed. We cleared up the plates and got the ice cream out the fridge. We settled on the sofa and found 'Bridget Jones' on one of the movie channels. At 11 o clock, we finally decided to call it a night. Carmella gave me a hug goodnight and went down to her apartment. I crawled into bed and fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

I woke up a few hours later and had a few seconds of panic and disorientation before I remembered that I was in Ranger's apartment. I looked to the doorway and saw Ranger leaning against the door, smiling slightly.

"Yo" I croaked. He smiled a bit more and walked into the room. "What time is it?" I asked, searching for a clock. He sat on the edge of the bed and started unlacing his boots.

"It's about three in the morning. You need to sleep."

"You're back early and you don't seem all that surprised that I'm here. I was expecting you to threaten to throw me out a window." I stated, sitting up slightly.

"Carmella phoned me to tell me you'd be here. She told me everything." He said. I sighed and leant against the headboard. He put a comforting hand on my leg.

"I'm not here to judge babe; I'm just here to sleep. I'll crash on the couch." He offered and peeled his t-shirt off. "I'm just going to take a shower." He announced and walked into the bathroom. I stayed sat up, wondering if I actually wanted him to sleep on the sofa. He came out about ten minutes later wearing a pair of silk boxers and smelling delicious. He opened the closet to get out some pillows and blankets.

"Don't!" I said suddenly, surprising both Ranger and myself "I mean, you can sleep in the bed as well if you want." I could feel myself blushing. He chuckled and slid under the covers next to me. He wrapped an arm around my and pulled me to him. He dropped a kiss lightly on me shoulder.

"Night babe." He whispered.

"Goodnight Ranger." I replied and fell asleep in his arms, feeling very comfortable.

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I woke up at ten o clock the next morning and rolled out of bed and into the shower. I decided that I was going to buy some of Ranger's shower gel; I didn't care how much it cost. I pulled on a t-shirt and some kick-flare jeans and walked out the bedroom. Carmella and Ranger were sat in the kitchen eating breakfast. Ranger had half a grapefruit, Carmella had a bacon sandwich. When they saw me, they both smiled.

"Morning Sunshine." Carmella grinned and indicated a chair "I ordered you a bacon sandwich. I guessed you'd appreciate more then half a stinking grapefruit." Ranger rolled his eyes but kept smiling.

"I'm telling you Carmella, you'll hit your twenties and you'll inflate like a balloon. You'll have to employ someone to tie your shoes up for you." He said. Carmella stuck her tongue out at him and looked in disgust at the grapefruit.

"You cannot seriously like all that food. I mean granted, some healthy stuff can be nice but most of it I wouldn't even feed to the hamster, it'd be cruelty to animals!" she said. I laughed and took a bite of my sandwich, she was right; it was a lot better then grapefruit. Ranger glanced at the wall clock.

"Ok, you have about an hour and a half to get ready." Carmella squealed and finished off her sandwich.

"An hour and a half? I'll never be ready in time!"

"Don't be stupid, you only need to get changed. Unless you're planning to go in your pyjamas." Ranger said, glancing at her 'Boys are stupid' boxer shorts and top. She sighed.

"Ok, fine." I suddenly had a bad thought.

"I left my suit at Joe's! I completely forgot about it!" I announced.

"Don't worry, I'll drive you there now and we'll get it." Ranger said calmly as he finished his grapefruit.

"I'll come as well in case Joe's there and you need some extra muscle!" Carmella grinned. Ranger muttered something under his breath in Spanish and we all walked out the apartment into the lift.

I started to feel nerves fluttering through me as we approached Joe's house. Carmella was still in her pyjamas and was singing along to the radio. Ranger parked the car and we all got out. Joe's car was in the driveway. Rats. I unlocked the front door and the three of us walked in. Joe jumped up from the couch and then jumped back at the sight of Ranger.

"Cupcake I am so sorry. You know I didn't mean any of the things I said, I was just angry. I never meant-"

"I'm just here to get some clothes Joe." I said coldly and walked upstairs with Ranger following me. Carmella stayed at the bottom of the stairs to stop Joe from coming up. I walked into the bedroom and pulled the wardrobe door open. I handed Ranger a small suitcase and we started throwing clothes in.

"I'm sorry to just impose myself on you." I said to Ranger as we packed.

"It's no problem babe, glad to have you. Besides, Carmella likes having you around. I think she gets a little bummed that Ella's the only other female in the building." He smiled. I could hear talking downstairs.

"Carmella please just get out the way, I need to talk to her."

"Not a chance in hell mate. I am not moving and you can't make me, unless you hit little girls of course." She growled.

"I'm not going to hit you, I just- are those your pyjamas?"

"Well…yeah, but…I…shut up Morelli." I could see Ranger smiling and shaking his head in disbelief. Ranger shut the suitcase and picked it up.

"I can carry it." I insisted. He looked at me.

"No, it's best for you to just take things easy."

"You sound like my mother." I glared. He swatted my on the behind and we walked downstairs. Carmella was stood in the centre of the staircase, preventing anyone from getting past.

"Ok sweetheart, we're ready to go." Ranger told her. She nodded and we walked out the house.

"Stephanie please, I am sorry. Don't just leave; we need to talk about this."

"No, you did all the talking you needed to last night. I need time to think and you need time to calm down and get a hold of your ego." I replied and climbed in the car.

We pulled into the car park and got into the lift up to the fourth floor.

"Ok you two, one hour to get ready and then meet me in the lobby." Ranger instructed as he set my suitcase down in Carmella's apartment. Carmella muttered something about not having nearly enough time and ran into her room. I pulled out my suit and quickly changed into it. I was rolling my stockings on when Carmella came out. She looked extremely sophisticated. Her suit was black (of course) with a white shirt. The jacket of the suit finished just below her hips and the pencil skirt sat just below her knees and had a slit up the side that finished half way up her thigh. She was wearing a pair of very professional shoes and her hair was straightened with a flick at the end. She smiled.

"You look nice." She said. I smiled back.

"You look about 20." I replied. She looked at me critically.

"Do you want me to do something with your hair?" she asked. Now I was suspicious.

"What kind of thing?" I asked. She went back into her room and came out carrying a pair of hair straighteners, a lot of sectioning clips and a canister of shine spray. Half an hour later, I had to admit I looked good. Carmella had straightened my hair and done my make up for me. I was amazed that it had taken only half an hour. It usually took me about two hours to look half this good. I grinned at her.

"You're amazing." I said admiringly. She nodded.

"Yes, that is the general consensus, come on, Dad'll be waiting." We walked out the apartment and into the lift. We stepped out into the lobby. Sure enough, Ranger and Tank were waiting for us. They were both wearing suits and looked extremely sophisticated. They had their backs to the elevator. Carmella cleared her throat and they both spun around. They both stared in surprise.

"Wow." Ranger muttered.

"I agree" Tank said. Carmella laughed

"Doesn't Stephie look amazing? It is all my doing for I am a genius." She announced and struck a pose. Ranger laughed and gave her a hug. He looked me up and down.

"You do look amazing." He commented. I smiled and did a spin and a curtsey. We went down into the garage and got in the BMW. Tank and Ranger sat up front, Tank driving, while me and Carmella sat in the back singing along to the radio. We pulled up outside the courthouse at 12.25. The last time I'd been in court it had been my divorce with Dickie. That was not one of my fondest memories. We walked up the marble stairs into the highly decorated hall. There was a tall man with mocha coloured skin wearing a completely black suit reading some of the notices. He turned as we walked in and walked up to us. He shook Ranger's hand and said something in Spanish. Ranger nodded and replied in Spanish. Carmella frowned and contributed to the conversation. Tank was nodding. I was wishing I understood Spanish. Tank turned to me.

"It's just case details, don't worry you're not missing out on much." He grinned. I nodded and Ranger looked at me.

"Steph this is our lawyer Eddie Sanchez. Eddie this is Ms Plum. She's a close friend of mine."

"Yeah and she's my friend as well." Carmella piped up. Eddie shook my hand.

"Hello Ms Plum, have you met Mr and Mrs Bernards yet?" he asked. I didn't know who he was talking about.

"That's Madre and James. Eddie just call them by their names, Dumb and Dumber." Carmella smiled. Eddie chuckled and slung an arm around Carmella's shoulder.

"You've got a real livewire here Ric." He said to Ranger. Ranger ruffled Carmella's hair.

"Don't I know it."

"Hey, off the hair old man! I spent ages getting it right. Ah man, does anyone have a mirror? I'm going to the ladies." She announced and sashayed across the floor to the ladies bathroom. We were stood, chatting about the case when shouts started coming from the toilets that Carmella had just gone into.

"Just leave me alone you old whore! Te odio, espero que te mueras!" Carmella's voice echoed through the hall. Ranger, Tank and Eddie all gasped and winced.

"I'll give you three guesses who's in there and the first two don't count." Eddie muttered. I was confused again.

"Carmella just told someone in there that she hated them and she wished they would die." Tank explained. I felt my mouth drop in surprise. Someone was shouting back at her in rapid Spanish.  
"Yep, that's Eva alright. She always did have a mouth like a sewer." Ranger muttered. Tank was translating for me.

"Eva just said that she didn't deserve a daughter like Carmella, Carmella said she knew and that she was much too good for Eva and that Eva was the worst mother ever. Eva said that Carmella is no better then a hooker, Carmella said that Eva was the equivalent of a hooker." He said. I was shocked.

"This is better then day time TV." Eddie grinned.

"If they hate each other so much then why is Eva fighting for custody?" I asked.

"Either because James is making her or, the more likely option, she's just trying to piss Ric off." Tank said

"Shouldn't we go and stop them?" I suggested. Ranger nodded.

"Yeah we should before one of them drowns the other in a toilet." He murmured and we ran across the hall into the toilets. We burst in and saw Carmella shrieking at another woman, presumably Eva. They both spun to face us. I could see the resemblance. Carmella was just a very pretty version of Eva. Eva hadn't aged well. She had lines around her eyes and bags underneath them, but the eyes themselves were blazing with anger.

"Dad, this is the ladies bathroom." Carmella whispered.

"Yes I know, but we can hear you two having your screaming match all the way across the hall."

"Hello Ricardo. I'd say it's good to see you but I don't lie."

"You don't? That's a shock, when did you give that up?" Carmella hissed.

"Eva, good to see you're as vindictive as ever." Ranger growled. Eva smiled maliciously and then looked at me.

"Who's this then? Is she your new bit of skirt Ricardo? I'd get out while you still can girl." She stared at me

"Y'know Madre, there are some women who are worth making an effort for, like Steph. Others, such as you, are not worth the dust on the soles of a tramps foot." Carmella returned the malicious smile.

"Laugh while you still can my dear, but we will win custody and when we do you'll be off to military school in order to straighten out your blatant attitude problem and problem with people who are superior to you." Eva hissed.

"When you say people who are superior to me are you talking about yourself? Because I don't treat you the way I do because of my attitude problem as you put it, I act that way because I know that I am superior to you. See I'd never take my daughter's boyfriend, who happened to be half my age, and marry him because I am not a filthy, sleazy, common little slut unlike you." Carmella smiled sweetly.

"You won't be smiling when you're sleeping under canvas in winter at military school my dear, so enjoy your false sense of superiority while it lasts."

"You're sadly disillusioned Madre, you know damn well that 1, you won't gain custody and 2, I could easily get away from you if you did."

"I don't think even you could escape from a military school Carmella. You may be good but you are not that good. This is you trying to copy your father and trust me sweetness, your father is not someone that you want to copy." Eva glared at Ranger whose eyes were turning darker by the second, I couldn't remember ever seeing him this angry.

"Because you're such a perfect role model Eva. You drink, you did drugs, you sleep around, your steal your daughter's boyfriend. I hardly think that makes you a decent mother. That just makes a waste of space." Ranger hissed. Eva looked furious.

"Madre, why don't you do us all a favour and vete a tomar por culo!" Carmella said calmly. Eva looked like she was about to hit her.

"How dare you tell me to fuck off you little slag, she's got this off of you Ricardo, you and your little band of whores and followers." She said, looking from Ranger, to me, and back to Ranger.

"Excuse me? Who are you calling a whore?" I asked, but was ignored by the full scale rant that was going on.

"Eva if she's got it from anyone then it'll have been you or your pre-kindergarten boyfriend, not me." Ranger replied.

"Yeah, and Ranger hardly ever swears." I piped up. Ranger smiled at me and winked.

"Ranger? So you're still using your super-cool nickname then?" Eva asked.

"Look you common tart, we, unlike you, have class and so we are going to go now and leave you alone, like so many others have done. We'll see you in the hearing and I can assure you that when we win, we will crucify your dumb husband." Carmella hissed and walked out with me and Ranger following.

Tank and Eddie were stood where we had left them. As we walked up to them, Tank smiled grimly.

"I take it that was round one." He stated. Ranger nodded.

"That was awful, I couldn't imagine talking to my mom like that!" I exclaimed. Carmella looked at me.

"You thought that was bad? The worst is yet to come."

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Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! I hope you enjoyed this instalment and please review! Sorry to any serious 'cupcake' fans, but I'm still working on the storyline so it could all change! Arigato!


	14. The Manifestations of evil

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

The hearing room was just like a board room. There was a huge mahogany table in the centre surrounded by chairs with one small desk at the side of the room. I looked quizzically at Ranger.

"This is just the hearing room; it's more of a discussion in here. The actual verdict will be passed somewhere else." He explained, without needing to hear my question. We sat down on one side of the table, Eddie first, then Ranger, then Carmella, then me and finally Tank at the end. Carmella sighed and looked at me.

"This is so brutal and unnecessary. If madre would just get over herself then this wouldn't be happening." I patted her shoulder.

"Don't dwell on it. It'll all be over soon." I said softly. She nodded and smiled. The door swung open and Eva walked in, followed by two men. One of the guys looked like he was only about 18 and was lanky with red hair and pale skin; I'm guessing it was James. He blew a kiss at Carmella and licked his lips. Carmella raised an eyebrow at him and slowly gave him the finger. The other guy was about the same height as Ranger with the same shade of skin as him and a marine buzz cut but was a lot fatter the Ranger with no muscles. Ranger and Carmella stared at him in shock. Eva smiled.

"I have new representation, this is Enrique Mañoso. Ricardo, I believe you've met before." She hissed vindictively. Ranger glared at Enrique.

"You bastard." He hissed. Enrique shrugged.

"Ric, this is nothing personal, a job's a job. Let's just get this over with." He replied. Tank was frowning. Carmella looked murderous.

"¡Te gordo cabron!" She growled.

"Carmella…" Ranger said in a warning voice. Tank was smiling. I looked at him wanting to know what she said. He leaned closer and whispered.

"She called him a fat bastard." Now I was smiling.

"Who is he?" I whispered. Tank frowned again.

"He's Ranger's second cousin. The bastard. Money means more to him then family. He resents the fact that Ranger's successful and has friends and family. Enrique doesn't think you can have both." He explained. I nodded and leaned back in my chair. Enrique sat opposite Eddie, Eva opposite Ranger and James sat opposite Carmella. He studied me for a few second, then grinned and winked. I felt my lip curl in disgust, James was ok looking but there was something extremely…creepy about him. Carmella glared at him. He simply smiled back and held up his left hand. A golden wedding band sat on his ring finger. Carmella rolled her eyes and looked at Ranger.

"So are we going to get started?" she asked.

"We're waiting for the court official." He replied. She sighed and slumped forwards with her face resting in her hands. The door swung open and a woman in her thirties wearing a black suit and carrying a suitcase walked in, followed by a man who looked to be in his mid twenties. The man sat at the desk at the side and pulled out a notepad, pen and personal tape recorder out of his suitcase. The woman sat at the head of the table and looked around at everyone, smiling. Her eyes locked on me and Tank.

"You two are not members of the family are you? Is everyone present ok with you being here?" she asked us.

"Carmella invited them to be here. I have no objections." Ranger said. Eva glared.

"I wasn't aware they would be here, I'm not sure I agree." She stated.

"If Mrs Bernards does not agree then I shall have to insist-"

"If she doesn't agree then I shall have to point out that Mr Bernards is not actually a member of the family and that he to should have made sure we all agreed to him being present." Ranger said darkly. Eva sent him a withering look.

"Eva, angel, I don't want to miss this." James whispered to his wife. She nodded.  
"I have no objections to those two being here." She muttered darkly. Carmella smiled victoriously. James glared at her.

"Ok, so everyone here is ok with everyone else?" The official stated.

"Well I wouldn't say that we're all 'ok' with each other but we will put up with each other's presence, just try and make this as short as possible." Carmella said.

"Fine, I am Mrs Phillips. I'd like for this to stay as civil as possible and for everyone to keep to the facts." Carmella snorted with laughter.

"Yeah, good luck with that." She muttered. Ranger smiled grimly. James actually laughed out loud.

"Right then. At the present time, Carmella Maria Conchita Mañoso is legally in the custody of Miss Eva Castillo or as she is currently known, Mrs Eva Bernards. However, Carmella is currently living with Mr Ricardo Carlos Mañoso because she ran away from her home with Mrs Bernards. Mr Mañoso wishes to be granted full custody of Carmella. Now Carmella wishes to continue living with Mr Mañoso as she has been doing for the past three weeks. However, a number of things concern me. The first is that Carmella has not yet been enrolled in a school."

"I'm starting at Trenton High school on Monday and I am really looking forward to it." Carmella argued. Mrs Phillips looked up from her notes.

"Really? The school have accepted you half way through the term? That is very…lenient of them." Carmella shrugged.

"Everyone has to get an education. I'm sure the school is sympathetic to that." She replied coolly. Mrs Phillips stared at her for a second and then nodded.

"Very well. Anyway as I was saying, there are a number of things that concern me. The second is your occupation Mr Mañoso. What is it that you do exactly?" She asked in a superior tone. Ranger studied her.

"I'm a fugitive apprehension agent and I own my own security company." He answered.

"By fugitive apprehension agent, you mean that you are a 'bounty hunter'" She stated. Ranger nodded.

"Yes, that is another name for it." He said glancing at Eva who was smiling maliciously.

"Personally Mrs Phillips, I am not all that comfortable with my only child living with a man who dodges bullets for a living." She said vindictively. Ranger glared. There was a lot of glaring going on. Carmella scowled at her mother.

"Well it's a good thing it's not up to you then, isn't it?" She said. Eva smiled sweetly.

"Oh darling, you've just been confused by all the nasty lies that your father has told you about me. I know that deep down, you know that I only have your best interests at heart." She said with a butter-wouldn't-melt expression on her face.

"Really? Is that why you said that the second you got me back then you'd send me off to military school?" Carmella asked. Eva stared and searched for a response.

"I…you must have imagined that." She said.

"No I didn't, Dad and Steph heard you say it as well, didn't you?" Carmella asked. Ranger and I nodded.

"Yeah, I did." Ranger said.

"I heard her say it as well." I stated. Mrs Phillips nodded and shot a superior look at me, then turned back to Eva.

"Military school is a bit drastic Mrs Bernards and I must remind you that I expect the whole truth to be told in this room. Why would you send Carmella to military school?" She asked. Eva sighed.

"I want Carmella to get the most out of life. She's obviously a disturbed girl, you only need to see her previous school report to know that, but she is my daughter and I love her very much. However, if she carries on the way she's going then she may end up in jail, or worse, by the time she's 20 and I'd hate to have to live with the fact that I could've prevented her fate. I just want her to live her life as full as she can and for her to be happy." She smiled sadly, then asked "Mrs Phillips, do you have any children?" Mrs Phillips nodded.

"Yes, I have a daughter."

"Then surely you can understand how important their lives are. You must see that I only want Carmella to be happy."

"I must object ma'am, this case is about Carmella. It must be judged on facts and evidence that relates to Carmella. It is not about the personal feelings of the officials." Eddie said indignantly

"That is correct Mr Sanchez; Mrs Bernards please stick to points that are related to Carmella or Mr Mañoso if you please." Mrs Phillips commanded. Eva nodded.

"Of course, I am deeply sorry Mrs Phillips." Carmella rolled her eyes and sighed. Mrs Phillips flicked through her notes and settled on a set of documents.

"It says here that you visited the hospital near your home in Miami four times in the space of three months earlier in the year, twice for cracked ribs, once for concussion and once for treatment for cuts and bruising. It says that you needed stitches." She said to Carmella who nodded.

"Yes, I have a scar across my shoulder that will probably stay for life."

"Yes it says that in the notes, a scar measuring approximately four inches." Mrs Phillips read. Carmella nodded wordlessly.

"Now Carmella, can you tell me how these injuries occurs?" She asked.

"Of course I can. The first time for one cracked rib was a result of James, or should I say, Mr Bernards, punched me in the stomach because I was ten minutes late coming home. The second time when I had two cracked ribs was from being thrown down the stairs by Mr Bernards because I didn't make it into the cheerleading squad. The third time for concussion was when Mr Bernards slammed my head against a kitchen counter because I only got a B in English when I was predicted an A and the final time when I was treated for the scar and bruises was when Mr Bernards tried to rape me and beat me up when I resisted and cut my shoulder with a broken bottle. I managed to fight him off and took myself to the hospital for treatment. That was the day I left home. I also broke Mr Bernards' nose in self defence." Carmella explained. I could see Ranger flinching at the mention of each incident and when she talked about the rape, I saw him clenching his fist, restraining himself for leaping across the table and throttling James. Mrs Phillips looked stunned.

"But you never filed a police report?" She asked. Carmella stared at her.  
"And where would I have stayed? Where could I have gone to be safe? If I'd filed a report he'd have gotten worse. If I left he might have started on Madre and, much as I dislike her, I wouldn't wish that kind of treatment on anyone." Tears were streaming down Eva's face, but she looked angry. James and Ranger both looked murderous.

"You're lying. You're not right Carmella, you are just jealous because James left you for me. You hate that he dumped you and this is your twisted way of revenge. You see, this is why you need help. It's because you don't think straight darling. I want to help you but you have to admit you have a problem." Eva said, trying to sound sympathetic, but the anger in her voice was hard to mask.

"How the hell can you say that? What is wrong with you? Have you seen the scars Eva? The scars that were left on our daughter by your sick toyboy. How can you bare to live with him, knowing what he did to her? You talk about wanting to help her but all you want to do is get at me and get rid of her. He tried to rape her, even though he was with you. Now he's just sat there, feeling proud that he might actually have gotten away with it and you are defending him above your daughter. Carmella isn't the one who's not right, you are!" Ranger shouted. Carmella put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, you and I both know that James is a guarro!" She smiled. Ranger looked at her and smiled slightly.

"How dare you! He is your step father and you should show some respect for him." Eva shouted.

"Have respect for the man that dumped me because I wouldn't sleep with him, dated my mother because she would, sent me to hospital four times and tried to rape me? I don't think so. I think I'm gonna have problems respecting him when in all honesty he is scum!" Carmella shouted back. I turned to Tank.

"What's a guarro?" I asked. He smiled.

"It means 'ugly fucker'." I smiled slightly as well. James glared at me; he probably didn't understand what 'guarro' meant. I wasn't about to tell him. Mrs Phillips looked shocked.

"Can we try and stay civilised and speak English please?" she called out. Carmella leant back in her chair and glared at her.

"Yeah whatever." She muttered. Mrs Phillips picked up another page of notes.

"Right, Mr and Mrs Bernards, you both have steady jobs don't you?" She asked. They both nodded.

"Yes, I'm a plumber and my wife is a hairdresser and manicurist." James spoke in a very slimy tone that almost reminded me of Vinnie. Mrs Phillips nodded.

"Those are both respectable jobs. I take it that means you are stable financially and would be able to support Carmella if she was returned to your care." She said. James nodded.

"Of course, and we would provide a normal family life and atmosphere with two parents." Ranger snorted.

"You will never be Carmella's parent, you sick bas-"

"Dad, ignore him." Carmella whispered. Ranger nodded leant against the arm of his chair.

"You said 'if' she is returned to their care. You cannot possibly be considering giving them custody, not after hearing about the injury he's done to Carmella. He tried to rape her. He put her in hospital. If you let them keep Carmella, then you're as good as signing her death warrant." Ranger said to the official.

"Mr Mañoso, it is not a fact that Mr Bernards inflicted all those harms to Carmella." She replied. James cleared his throat.

"Despite what Mr Mañoso says, we could provide a happy atmosphere for Carmella. She would have a normal family life. We could help her get better, mentally. She could see a psychiatrist and try to clean herself up she could be happy and live her life to its potential. It makes sense, and it would be healthier then living with a man who risks death every time he goes out to work. Psychologically, it could mess Carmella up further, waiting each day to see whether or not her dad would come home alive. It makes sense to save her that mental trauma. Already while she's been living with her dad, he's been hit by a car and taken to hospital and I also discovered that only yesterday, the car she'd been driven in exploded, only a few feet away her. That is not a safe environment for a growing girl." James said, smiling in a sickening way. Carmella growled

"Eres muy puta".

"That means 'you pointless twat'" Tank told me. James smiled sympathetically at her.

"Oh Little Angel, deep down you know that it would be better for you to live with your mom and I. You're just infatuated with the glamorous idea of your dad that you've built in your head. I know that you might think it's cool to have a bounty hunter for a dad, but I'm sure you'd only have to ask his friends to realise how worrying it can be, knowing that he's out there, chasing down dangerous criminals. I mean let's ask his friend here" he turned to me "Don't you worry about him?" I stared into the cold green eyes and smiled.

"No. I don't at all. Ran- Ricardo is the best. I've known him a long time and he's never given me any reason to worry or not to trust his judgement. I've worked with him and I have never felt safer. He looks after the people close to him so no, I don't worry about him." I replied. Carmella beamed at me.

"Um, what exactly do you do? For your job I mean." James asked. I smiled.

"I'm a fugitive apprehension agent." I replied. James stared at me.

"But…you're a woman." He said in disbelief.

"Yes, I had noticed." I replied.

"So Miss…" Mrs Phillips addressed me.

"Ms Plum" I told her.

"Ms Plum, you say that you feel safe in Mr Mañoso's presence, despite the fact you do a high risk job?" She said, obviously trying to clarify it in her own head.

"Of course, as I said, Mr Mañoso is the best. He takes care of Carmella and it is obvious that he loves her and will look after her." I said to her. She nodded and jotted something down. Eva and James both glared at me. I ignored their looks and instead turned to Carmella, who was smiling at me.

"I wonder if Ms Plum should be allowed to voice her opinion, this is really nothing to do with her." Eva said in a strained voice.

"In that case, Mr Bernards shouldn't be allowed to voice his opinion." Ranger growled.

"This has everything to do with James, he is my husband and therefore is a part of mine and Carmella's life."

"He's a woman beating sick man who tried to rape a 15 year old."

"Those are just allegations made by Carmella who is mentally unstable." James hissed.

"¡Vete a follar!" Carmella shouted at him.

"'Go fuck yourself'" Tank whispered to me. I looked up at him.

"Excuse me?" I said indignantly.

"That's what Carmella said to him, just so you know." He smiled "Sorry if you misinterpreted that." I rolled my eyes and looked back at the argument that was escalating.

"Isn't it obvious that Carmella does not want to go back to them?" Ranger said to Mrs Phillips.

"Carmella is a teenager. Teenager's rebel, it's only natural. She may not necessarily know what is right for her." She replied. "Anyway, we are not getting anywhere and it's been over half an hour. This hearing is adjourned; you will get the next hearing date through your lawyers. It may be as little as a week. Goodbye." She stood and walked out with the man who'd been jotting down the minutes of the hearing following her. The five of us stood as well and walked out.

In the entrance hall, Carmella was stressing.

"Did you hear all that shit they were coming out with? Argh, they are the manifestations of evil! They're not natural." She declared as she paced the hall and waved her arms.

"Calm down CM, it's not that bad. I think that judge woman was swayed by the whole hospital thing." Tank said comfortingly.

"Ok, I'll call you Ric. Don't worry about a thing. They can't possibly win." Eddie said, clapped Ranger on the shoulder and walked away.

"I need the toilet." Tank muttered and shuffle off.

"Steph, I need to talk to you." Ranger said to me, sounding secretive.

"Ok, give me the keys and I'll go wait in the car." Carmella sighed. Ranger threw her the keys and she walked out. He looked at me and smiled.

"I want to thank you, you were a real help in there. I'll have to remember to call on you if I ever need a character witness." He smiled.

"Everything I said in there was true. You make me feel safe." I smiled back.

"That's ironic, because the only time I'm worried that I may be in danger is when I go on a bust with you." He grinned, 200-watt smile, blow your socks off smile. I pushed his shoulder playfully.

"Hey, that's not funny. I do my best!" I exclaimed.

"That's all I ask babe." He smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist and lowered his mouth to mine. Oh boy.

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Carmella walked towards the car park, humming and swinging the keys around a finger. As she walked past an alley, a hand shot out, grabbed her and pulled her into the darkness. She was thrown against a wall and an arm was pressed against her throat. She looked into those familiar green eyes.

"Get off me James." She coughed. He smiled and put his face closer to hers.

"You made me look like a real scumbag in there. I didn't like it."

"I told the truth." She croaked. He nuzzled his face into her neck and nipped her.

"You are a stupid little bitch." He hissed.

"I am not scared of you." She lied.

"Well you should be if you had any brains. But then, I guess you don't. Going on about how I tried to rape you, that weren't clever. You made me seem like an idiot. Like I can't do anything right, can't even rape someone. Maybe I should make up for it." He slipped his free hand up her skirt. Carmella tried to struggle and get away but he was pinning her in place with his body. He took his hand out of her skirt and ripped open her blouse. The buttons scattered across the alley. Carmella whimpered and tried to hit him, but he had her arms pinned to her sides.

"Please don't." She whispered. James leered at her.

"You better not try and file a report with the police. You were right, I'd hurt you so much more if you did, and you wouldn't be safe, no matter where you went." He crushed his mouth against hers and forced his tongue into her mouth. Carmella whined, then she bit down on his tongue, hard. James shouted and punched her in the stomach. Carmella whimpered and released her jaw. James glared at her.

"You are going to regret that, you stupid little whore. This is going to so much worse for you." He said and slipped his hand back up her skirt.

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Ranger stood slowly and smiled at me. I smiled back then looked up and saw Tank stood behind a pillar, shifting from one foot to the other and looking embarrassed. I smiled.

"It's ok Tank, you can come out now." He smiled sheepishly and walked over to us.

"Right then, ready to rock and roll?" He asked. Ranger nodded.

"Yeah, Carmella's already in the car. Let's go." We walked out the hall and down the street to the car park.

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James pressed his hand against Carmella's mouth.

"I'm going to make you suffer, you little bitch." He whispered in her ear. She saw Stephie, Tank and her dad walk past the entrance of the alley. A little hope came back to her. She tried to call out to them but James' hand was stopping her from making a noise and even if it hadn't been there, her throat was so dry she wasn't sure she could have made a noise. They disappeared out of view. Carmella felt tears fill her eyes. This wasn't happening. She'd left all this in Florida. She whimpered slightly and James stared at her.

"You're scared now, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes." He smiled softly. "Don't fret little angel, I'll go easy on you. Actually, that's a lie. It'll be hell-for you. I've been waiting for this for so long. I went out with you for a year and nothing! I got nothing from you! You…you siren! You filled my head with ideas; you made me believe that I'd get some. Now I'm taking what I'm owed."

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There was no one in the car. Carmella was nowhere to be seen. I looked up at Ranger.

"Well…where is she?"

"I don't know, she should be here. She would have come straight here because she knows I'd get worried if she wasn't here. Where is she?"

"Ric, you know I don't want to say this, but what if James got her?" Tank said quietly. Ranger paled.

"Ok, Tank search the courthouse. Steph, we'll double back and see if she stopped in a shop or a café." I nodded. Tank ran on, while Ranger and I looked at all the shops and café's opposite. Ranger went over to the opposite street while I patrolled the areas around the courthouse.

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He grabbed the material either side of the slit on her skirt and ripped it up, so the was only a centimetre of material at the waistband holding the skirt together. Carmella whimpered and tried to fight him off, but it was useless. He kissed her neck roughly and slid the jacket off her shoulder. He gazed down at the scar that ran the length of her shoulder and traced a finger over it.

"That's an impressive scar indeed. I'm proud of that."

"You're sick." She spat. He smiled and ran a hand over her bra and across her toned stomach. She shuddered under his touch.

"This is going to happen Carmella. You can't stop it because you are just a weak little girl. You may as well just try to enjoy it."

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I walked back to the car park from the court house. I hadn't found Carmella and since neither Ranger nor Tank had called to say they'd found her, I was guessing they hadn't had any luck. I was walking past one of the alleys, when I heard a muffled shout. I turned and looked down the dark passage. There was a man with red hair, holding a woman against the wall. It looked like James. He shifted to the side and I saw who the girl was. Carmella.

"Hey!" I shouted. James looked around and stared at me. He had one hand over Carmella's mouth and that other hand on his zipper. He took a step back and Carmella kneed him in the groin. He winced and doubled over. Carmella ran up to me and tears started falling down her face. She had red marks on her neck and shoulder and there were no buttons on her shirt. Her skirt was ripped all the way up the leg and her jacket was nowhere to be seen. She was shivering. I wasn't surprised, she was stood there in her bra and a barely there skirt. I slipped my jacket off and handed it to her. She slipped it on and did it up to cover her stomach. She sniffed and looked at me.

"Dad'll go nuts when he sees me like this." She smiled weakly. I wrapped my arms around her.

"Are you ok?" I whispered. She shrugged.

"Not really, I thought…if you hadn't turned up…" She gulped and sobbed.

"Don't think about it." I whispered "Come on, your dad and Tank are going mad looking for you." She nodded.

"It hasn't really been my week, has it?" She smiled. I laughed softly and pulled out my cell phone. I selected Ranger's number and waited for him to answer.

"Yo" he muttered.

"Hey, I've got Carmella. We'll meet you back at the car." I told him then hung up and turned to Carmella. "So, what are you going to do? Are you going to press charges? This could really help the case." I pointed out. She shook her head.

"No, he said he'd hurt me worse if I pressed charges. And I don't think the courts would believe that he'd tried to rape me again. I'd be the girl who cried rape. It'd be a stupid thing for him to do and they'd think that it was just me and that I really was screwed up in the head. And I'm thinking we shouldn't tell dad." She said. I looked at her.

"What? Why not? You can't keep this from him."

"No I know that, but if we tell him then he'll go nuts and try to kill James. Then everyone will think he's crazy, lock him up and I'll have to go back to madre."

"I know that's true, but he needs to know. He's not an idiot; he won't kill James while the case is still happening. But he has got to know. Besides, how else would you explain your outfit?" I smiled. She nodded.

"Will you tell him? I don't think I could." She asked. I nodded and smiled.

"Yeah of course. Do you have the car keys?" Carmella held them up and dropped them into my hand. Tank and Ranger were both leaning against the car, looking very worried. Ranger jogged up to us and wrapped his arms around Carmella, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"Where the hell have you been? Why are you wearing Steph's jacket? What happened to you skirt?" He asked, examining her.

"Let's get in the car, it's probably better to talk in there." I suggested. We climbed in the car and Tank started the engine.

"OK, what happened?" Ranger asked as we rolled out the lot.

"Well, I was walking to the car when someone grabbed me and pulled me down the alley. It was James." She explained, then looked to me and nodded. I put a hand on her arm.

"He tried to rape her." I said softly. Tank swerved and almost hit a tree.

"What?" Ranger shouted "That fucking bastard, I will kill him. I will rip his head off his body!" Carmella looked at me.

"You see? This is why I said not to tell him." She murmured. Ranger was taking deep breaths.

"We have to report it." He said finally.

"No, we have no evidence except my word. I've already said he tried to rape me once before. No one would believe me if I said he'd done it again. Everyone would believe I'd made it up. And if you harm him then they'll say that you're unfit to look after me, plus you'd probably get locked up. It's not worth it. Of course, once you've got custody then I will hunt him down and pulverise him. Until then, we can't do anything." She replied "For now, he's won."

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Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! I hope you enjoyed this instalment and please review! I know that Carmella's having a rough time but it'll get better soon(ish). Arigato!


	15. First day of school

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

The rest of the ride home was silent; I guess no one could think of anything they could say. Carmella just shifted occasionally and tried to cover the slit up her skirt. Ranger had a murderous look on his face. Tank looked furious as well. I sighed and looked out the window at all the buildings and scenery that flashed past. We drove into the underground garage and climbed out the car.

"I'm going to sort out everything for school." Carmella muttered and walked out the garage. Tank walked silently out, presumably to the control room or the office. I looked at Ranger for a couple of beats.

"You know that she's right. You can't go to the police." I said softly. He nodded but said nothing. I rested my hand on his shoulder and studied his face. He sighed and looked down at me.

"I just want her to be safe and happy." He whispered.

"I know and Carmella knows as well. You're a brilliant father." I told him. He smiled

"Thanks babe." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. I tilted my head up towards him and he kissed me. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I almost melted on the spot.

"Hey boss, we need y-woah, sorry!" A voice called from across the garage. We jumped apart and looked up. Bobby and Lester were stood by the door, both grinning widely. I blushed and looked down at the floor. Ranger cleared his throat.

"What?" He asked sounding thoroughly pissed off. They were both grinning annoyingly. Ranger sighed and walked over to them. After a brief and quiet discussion, Ranger turned to me.

"Babe, I have to go. I'll be away tonight and maybe tomorrow night. I'll be back Monday morning at the latest. Give my love to Carmella." He said softly. I smiled.

"Sure, see you soon." I replied. He climbed in a car with Bobby and Lester and drove out the garage. I walked up into the main building and took the elevator up to the fourth floor. I walked into Carmella's apartment and heard a quiet sobbing coming from the bedroom.

"Carmella? Are you ok?" I asked. She sniffed loudly and called back in a weepy voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just my…allergies." I walked into the bedroom. She was sat on the floor with her face in her hands.

"I just want them to stop Stephie. Madre doesn't want custody of me, she despises me and I can't stand her. I love living with Dad and I don't see why she can't just let it go." I sat down next to her and put an arm over her shoulder.

"It's all about pride now. She doesn't want to loose to your dad. Well, that's what I think it is. She doesn't want to be shown up or made a fool out of." I said softly "Your dad's gone away for the night he says that he'll be back by Monday morning at the latest." She nodded.

"Ok, as long as he is here for my first day of school. I am so glad it's not a uniform school. My last one was I had to wear a kilt, a shirt, a tie and a blazer. We occasionally had to wear hats." She grinned. I smiled back.

"Sounds…constricted."

"It was awful; all the boys would try to undo our kilts." She laughed "Especially this one guy, Oli- he was a real laugh, him and his little followers would have competitions to see how many skirts they could undo each lunchtime. He was such a great guy…oh shit!" She exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Oh hell, I was going out with him when I left. When I split with James Oli was always there for me. He looked after me and we ended up going out. So we were going out for five months I think. And I just left. I didn't even call or leave a note…shit. He's going to hate me. He will actually despise me. I can't believe I did this! Freya, my best friend, I didn't even tell her. They're all going to hate me!" she moaned and sunk her head into her hands. I patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.

"They'll understand. You could call them." I suggested. She looked up.

"Yes! I will call them!" She jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I followed her slowly and watched as she tapped a number into the phone and hit the speaker-phone button. She stood, chewing her thumb nervously.

"Hello, Oli Hilson, master of kilts and comedy, who's calling?" He asked. Carmella laughed.

"Oli, its Carmella. Please don't hang up."

"Holy shit my little caramel. Where did you go? Where are you? Oh I have been so worried, we all have. We thought James-"

"No, y'know I phoned you and told you he tried to…y'know…rape me? Well when I told you that, I was on a bus going to an airport to catch a flight to Cuba. I am so sorry I didn't tell anyone. I just didn't want anyone to try to stop me and I was scared that Madre might find out."

"Sweetness I understand. I am just so relieved you finally got round to calling. So are you in Cuba?" He asked.

"Nope, you'll never guess what Oli, I found Dad! He's in Trenton and he has his own business and I have my own apartment!"

"That's amazing Caramel! It's just what you always wanted; I am so thrilled for you!"

"Yeah it's great, only problem is that we are now having a massive custody battle with Madre and James. It's getting so awful. Madre says I'll be going straight to military school."

"Babe your mom is a total bitch."

"You know she married James?"

"Are you shitting me? What a whore!" He exclaimed. Carmella laughed, then some background noise came into hearing at Oli's end.

"No…calm down Frey, it's Carmella." He said to whoever it was. There was a high pitched shriek.

"Omigod Oli gimme the phone! Carmella? Oh my gosh girlfriend I have missed you so fucking much! You're ok! I am so relieved, I have been worried sick!"

"She's been back in the anorexia ward" another girl's voice called in the background.

"What? Tell me that's not true Freya." Carmella said warningly.

"It's not how Sammy makes it sound. I've been back for check ups and I've put on a stone, I met my target weight Mel!"

"Frey that is so fantastic. I am so sorry I'm not with you. But if all goes well then I'll be staying her in Trenton with my dad."

"Omigod you found your dad! That is the best thing ever!"

"You and Oli have to swear to come up and see me! At a weekend or in the holidays. I'd come down, only…I don't want to run into Madre or James." She gave Freya her mobile number and the apartment's number.

"Fair nuff, oh Sammy wants to talk to you."

"Why? I hate her and she hates me."

"She just wants a chat." Carmella sighed as the phone changed hands again. Carmella looked at me and grinned.

"This is amazing; I can't believe they still want to talk to me!" She squealed. I laughed as a new voice came onto the line.

"Carmella?"

"Yeah, hi Sammy. How are you?"

"I'm good. I just wanted to tell you that Oli is mine and you should keep your slutty hands off of him. He's moved on. Get over it." She hissed.

"Sammy I am over it. I am living in a building with at least seven very attractive men. I'm as over it as is humanely possible. And I will always be better then you. Always. I'll be the one people want to talk about or hang out with. Not you Sammy, no one likes you. Put Oli back on."

"Your dumb slag-"

"Put Oli on now!" Carmella commanded. Sammy muttered and handed the phone to Oli.

"Hey Ol, congrats! I heard you and Sammy got together!" She practically sang.

"Um…no. Did Sammy say that? Babe I'm single, free as a bird, still mourning over you."

"Oh thanks, it's good to know. Anyway Freya has my numbers and you are coming to stay soon. I have to go now but I'll see you soon."

"Ok, love you babe."

"Aw Oli, I love you too! Give my love to Freya as well. Tell Sammy to choke on her spiteful tongue." Carmella said. Oli laughed.

"I'll pass that on."

Carmella hung up and looked at me with a broad smile plastered across her face.

"They don't hate me! They still want to talk! This is the best thing ever!" she laughed and gave me a hug. "I'm going to the gym, do you want to come?" She asked. I stared at her in surprise. She looked back "Oh right, stupid question." She laughed and went to get changed. She emerged ten minutes later wearing dance trousers and a tank top. She bid me farewell and walked out. I looked at the phone. Time to interfere with Carmella's life. Plus I could order a pizza.

The next day I was woken by Carmella walking in and flicking the light on and off until I got up. After instructing me to get dressed in a smart outfit, she handed me a bagel coated in cream cheese and led me out the apartment and into the elevator. She was wearing a brown gypsy skirt, black strap top and a chocolate brown chord jacket over the top. The necklace that had been recovered from the fire was around her neck, the cross pendant shining under the elevator's dim light.

"Do you want to tell me where we're going?" I asked as we stepped out the lift and into the garage. Tank was slouched against one of the cars smiling slightly. Carmella walked over and climbed in the car, beckoning me to follow her. I sighed and got in the car. Tank shut my door, then got in the drivers side and started the engine. We rolled out of the lot and down the street. Tank glanced at Carmella.

"So I'll pick you up at 11.30" he stated. Carmella nodded.

"Yeah that'd be great. Pick up some doughnuts on the way." She instructed. He smiled.

"You'll get fat." He said warningly. Carmella laughed.

"I have a great metabolism, I work out frequently and my dad is an obsessed health freak. I think the chances of me getting fat are pretty slim. No pun intended." She grinned. Tank rolled his eyes. Ok so there would be doughnuts, this wasn't going to be a total bust. The car rolled to a stop. I glanced at my watch, 10.25. Where we going for the next hour? I looked up and saw a church. Carmella climbed out the car onto the sidewalk in front of the church.

"Come on, the service starts in 5 minutes. Hurry up." I looked in shock.

"Um…this isn't a catholic church. I'm catholic." I said as I climbed out of the car. Carmella shrugged.

"It's the same basics. I'm protestant, so is dad. This is the church I've been attending for the past few weeks and as you are the adult in charge it is your duty to accompany me. Anyway, about the whole catholic thing, when was the last time you went to mass?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well…I…um…it was…um…" I struggled to think.

"Exactly!" She said triumphantly and walked up the path into the church. I sighed and followed her.

The service wasn't that bad. It wasn't as set as the mass I was used to. Half the congregation kept coming up to Carmella after the service and asking where her father was. I couldn't imagine Ranger here, singing the hymns and praying. Carmella looked up at me.

"He sings very quietly, as in you can't hear him kind of quiet, but you know he's singing because his lips move very slightly. When he prays he looks just like he's thinking, only his eyes are closed." She said. I looked at her, no point asking how she knew what I was thinking; it obviously ran in the family. She smiled and walked out the church, expecting me to follow her. I made my way towards the door, but was stopped by a small group of elderly ladies. One of them smiled.

"Are you Carmella's mother, dear?" She asked. I smiled and shook my head.

"No I'm just a…a friend of the family." I answered, thinking that was an appropriate answer.  
"Are you courting Ricardo?" One of them asked. I had a moment of confusion before I realised Ricardo was Ranger.

"Dotty you can't just ask that, we don't even know the poor girl" the first woman said, then cut her eyes to me "Are you courting him?" She asked suspiciously.

"Um…no, Ran-Ricardo and I are just friends." I answered. Friends that made out. A lot. And occasionally shared a bed. No need to tell the old ladies that though. One of the other women stepped forwards.

"I know you; you're that Edna's granddaughter, the bounty hunter. Aren't you catholic?" She asked.

"I…I…um, I have to go now, Carmella's waiting." I said quickly and hurried out the church. Great, now the burg would know that I had renounced Catholicism. My mother was going to kill me.

I climbed into the car and sighed. Tank grinned at me.

"I didn't know church was so strenuous." He said, trying not to laugh. I glared. Carmella looked at me.

"What's the problem?" She asked. I groaned and hit my head against the headrest.

"My mother will kill me. She will crucify me." I groaned. Carmella sighed and looked at me as we drove away from the church.

"Ok, why will your mother crucify you?" She asked.

"Because those women in there know my Grandma Mazur. They're gonna tell her that I've renounced Catholicism and my mother will kill me."

"Steph, you haven't been to church in years. I think it's pretty clear that you've practically renounced Catholicism already." Carmella grinned. I smiled back, she was right.

A few hours later while Carmella and I were deciding what to have for tea, my mobile ran. I looked at the read-out and saw my parents' house calling.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Your Grandmother just met Mabel Giannini. Mabel says that you've given up being a catholic. Now Stephanie, I know you haven't been to mass in a while, but still-"

"Mom, I have not stopped being a catholic. I just went to church with Carmella this morning because she asked me to."

"Oh, ok then. Are you going to come over for dinner?" She asked. I sighed.

"Sorry, I can't" I replied quickly.

"Why not?" My mother asked suspiciously.

"Um…I have to help Carmella ready for school. I have to go now." I replied and quickly hung up.

I was woken the next morning by Carmella bursting into the apartment.

"Help! You have got to help me!" She shrieked. I sat up in bed.

"What?" I asked, feeling panicked. I looked at the clock, 7.30. Why the hell was Carmella up at 7.30? Then it occurred to me, Monday…school. I looked beside me and saw Ranger, fast asleep with an arm draped across my stomach. And he didn't seem to be wearing any clothes… Carmella ran in still wearing her pyjamas, then skidded to a stop as she took in the scene before her. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose there's no need to ask what you got up to last night. Honestly Stephanie Plum you are pregnant. I'm disappointed in you, embarking on these shenanigans with my father." I glared, gently lifted Ranger's arm off of me and slipped off the bed.

"It's not how it looks." I said defiantly. Carmella stared at me.

"Well that's good, because it looks like you two spent the whole night having se-" She was cut off by Ranger coughing in his sleep. Carmella looked at him, then whispered.

"He's not asleep; he's listening to our conversation." She told me. I looked at him. He looked asleep to me.

"He wouldn't do that, he's sleeping."

"You are so naïve, watch him." She whispered and then spoke at normal volume "So Steph, can we talk about…orgasms?" She almost shouted the last word. Ranger flushed and started coughing. Carmella looked at me and mouthed 'see?!' I grinned.

"Sure Carmella, we could talk about blowjobs and the g-spot as well if you want." I said loudly. Ranger had another coughing fit and his mocha skin had a crimson tinge. Carmella flopped on the bed.

"Dad we know that you're awake. You are a poor actor." She said. Ranger opened one eye and grinned at his daughter.

"You are evil." He stated. She grinned

"I know, now get up. Ella will be up with breakfast soon and I need help deciding what to wear for school. That is the problem with going to a school with no uniform; I never know what to wear." Ranger sighed and rolled out of bed. Thankfully I'd been wrong about him being naked; he was wearing a pair of black boxers which was good because otherwise I may have pounced on him without an ounce of self-restraint and I think that may have traumatised Carmella for life. He smiled at me and disappeared into the bathroom. Carmella and I walked into the kitchen where Ella was setting up breakfast. She beamed at us.

"Good morning! I've done eggs for breakfast; you both need your strength." She lifted the covers of the plate and the smell of egg reached my nostrils. OMG, I was going to be sick! I gagged and ran for the bathroom. I pushed the door open, ran past the shower and hunched over the toilet. After a good few minutes of throwing up, I was suddenly very aware of someone standing behind me. I turned and saw Ranger standing behind me, dripping wet from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He smiled sympathetically.

"Morning sickness?" He asked and held his hand out to me. I grasped it and stood up.

"It was the eggs, the smell, it just made me…" Oh no, even thinking about the smell made me gag. I turned back to the toilet and threw up again. This was so unattractive.

"Trust me babe, I've seen worse." Ranger chuckled softly. I gasped for air and stood up, flushing the toilet. He handed me mouthwash, toothpaste and my toothbrush. He smelt so good.

"I'll go and get rid of the e-g-g-s; I'll come and get you when the area's been cleared." He grinned and walked out. I spent about 15 minutes brushing my teeth, when Ranger walked back in, fully clothed. He smiled.

"All clear babe. Carmella's gone downstairs to choose an outfit and we're expected to join her to give our guidance." I nodded and walked into the bedroom to get changed. I was feeling deeply unattractive today. I reached for an old flannel shirt, but it was grabbed from my hand by Ranger.

"Hey, give that back!" I commanded.

"No way, I thought Carmella had gotten all of these off you." He said as he held the shirt out of my reach.

"I may have kept one or two, for sentimental value."

"You are not getting this back." He said and walked out. I sighed and pulled on a pair of baggy jeans, a soccer shirt, one of Ranger's black sweatshirts and a Navy Seals cap on my massive hair. I walked out and found my boots. After lacing them up, I joined Ranger in the lobby. And there was no sign of my shirt.

"Where's my shirt?" I asked.

"Why are you wearing my clothes?" Ranger asked. I shrugged.

"They're comfy. And you stole my shirt."

"Babe I hardly stole it, it was practically disintegrating." He grinned. I rolled my eyes and walked out the front door and into the lift with Ranger following me, locking up the apartment as he went.

We walked into Carmella's apartment and were greeted by the sound of Carmella shrieking and stomping around her bedroom.  
"Carmella, are you ok?" I called.

"Um...yeah, I just can't find my…oh there it is!" She declared. A few seconds later, she walked out wearing a black strap top, a pleated black mini skirt and a pair of black stiletto boots. Her hair fell just below her shoulders in curls. She looked stunning.

"What do you think?" She asked, doing a little twirl.

"I think that skirt is too short to be wearing in late November." Ranger growled. Carmella sighed.

"I'm not cold. I'll put on some pantyhose or something if you're that concerned about how cold it is." She replied. I smiled.

"I think it looks good." I replied. She grinned.

"I don't know, are you sure it's not too…revealing." Ranger said.

"I'll put a cardigan on. Can you not be so father-ish and try to see this from an average guy's point of view?" Carmella requested, sounding slightly irritated.

"No" Ranger replied shortly. She glared and walked over to the intercom.

"Hi Tank, is Junior in today?" She asked after buzzing the control room.

"Yeah, he's right here, I'll put him on." There was a scuffle at the other end, then Junior's voice came on "Hello?"

"Junior hi, it's Carmella. How old are you?" She asked.

"I'm 18, but why-"

"Great, can you come down to my apartment right away? Thanks bye!" She disconnected and walked back to us, glaring defiantly at Ranger, almost daring him to ask what that was about. There was a knock at the door. Carmella opened it and Junior walked in, looking slightly confused.

"Hi Junior, can you just tell me; do you like this outfit?" She asked doing a twirl. Junior blushed slightly.

"Um, yeah…it's really…nice." He coughed.

"Not too revealing?" She prompted. He shook his head.

"No, it looks good on you; it makes your legs look really long. Really…well, stunning" He said "Was that the right answer?" He asked quietly, sounding slightly worried. Carmella nodded and smiled.

"Perfect, thank you Junior!" She ushered him out the door and turned back to Ranger.

"See dad, it's stunning. Now come on, we need to be going." She walked back into her room, then out again wearing a black jacket with a black shoulder bag on.

We walked down to the underground garage and climbed into the Porsche. Carmella spent the journey fiddling with her hair and singing along to the radio. Trenton High had changed since I'd last been here. There was a science block extension and a new gymnasium. A load of girls in cheerleader ensemble were prancing around on the grass outside the school with a load of guys watching them, a few Goths were in a dark corner chatting about goodness knows what and there were a couple of girls in jeans and flannel shirts sat on the wall where I used to sit. Maybe it hadn't changed that much.

"Ok Sweetheart, you need to go the office and sign in or something." Ranger said to Carmella. She looked startled.

"You're not coming with me?" She asked. Ranger shook his head.

"They said it would be better for you to go alone." Carmella nodded and took a deep breath.

"Shall I come with you? To show you where the office is, or at least where it used to be where I went here." I offered, looking at Ranger for approval. He smiled and nodded. Carmella let out a breath of relief.

"ThatdbesogreatSteph!!!!" She blurted out in one breath. I smiled and climbed out the car. She emerged from the car and joined me on the path up to the school. As we walked up the path, I could feel the eyes of the kids outside watching us. One of the guys wolf-whistled as we walked past and Carmella turned and smiled at him, a real 200-watt smile that she'd inherited from her father. We walked into the main building and luckily the office hadn't moved.

"Hi, my name's Carmella and I'm starting here today." Carmella told the receptionist, who smiled kindly.

"Ok Carmella, can I have your full name?" She asked

"Carmella Maria Conchita Mañoso" Carmella told her. She tapped something into the computer and smiled.

"Ok, here's your class, your timetable and your form. There's also a map of the school in there somewhere. By the way, you have an amazing name." The receptionist beamed and handed Carmella a pack of papers.

"Thank you." Carmella said appreciatively.

"Anytime my dear, classes start in half an hour." She told her. We walked back outside and down the path. The Porsche was still there, engine growling. Ranger got out and walked up to Carmella. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Good luck sweetness, I'll see you later." He smiled and got back in the car. I gave her a quick hug and got back in the car. We pulled away from the curb and rolled down the street. Ranger looked slightly worried.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" He asked. I smiled

"She'll be fine Ranger; she's been to school before. She's 15 and she's the most street wise kid I've ever met. Don't worry." I put my hand on his.

"You're right, I'm worrying about nothing."

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Carmella sighed and looked at her timetable. She had History and Drama first, her favourite subjects. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. She turned and saw five girls all wearing matching denim skirts and tank top with exactly the same hair styles only in slightly different colours. Carmella smiled at them.

"Oh hi" she said, slightly taken back. The girl in the middle smiled slightly.

"Who are you? Actually, more importantly, who was that guy you were with? He was so hot!" She said.

"Um, I'm Carmella and…"

"OMG, was he your boyfriend? That is so cool! I totally dig older guys!" One of the other girls squealed.

"Well he's really not…" Carmella tried to explain.

"So where did you come from? You're new right? Well of course you are, we haven't seen you before and we know everyone!" Another one chirped.

"I just moved her from Florida…" Carmella started

"Florida? Woah, so have you been to the O.C and stuff?" The second one asked, linking arms with Carmella.

"No, the O.C is in California" Carmella smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

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Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! I hope you enjoyed this instalment and please review! Sorry this one took so long to post (if anyone cares!) I'll try to be quicker this time! Ok, another question; in the U.S school system what do the say for each year group, because here it can be Year 11 for 15-16 year olds or 5th form or something, but what is it over there? Does that make any sense? Ok, so if anyone knows AND understood that question, please tell! Arigato!


	16. Princess Caramel

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Carmella sat and stared at the board, twirling her pen between her fingers. Stacy and Shell were sat on either side of her looking extremely confused. She smiled slightly. The five girls had temporarily adopted her into their gang and so she had an escort wherever she went and shared each class with at least one of the girls, except in Chemistry and Health where she was on her own. History was not as fun and interesting as it used to be. Of course that could be because she'd learned about the rise of Hitler about two years ago in her old school. Stacy and Shell were clueless, despite the fact that they'd been studying the topic for about three months.  
"Miss Mañoso, am I boring you?" The teacher's voice suddenly cut into her thoughts. Carmella dropped her pen and looked up.

"Huh?"

"This may be your first day my dear, but that is no excuse for not listening. Or maybe you think you are already so good that you don't need to participate in the class." Miss Davies continued. The whole class were staring at her, apart from Shell and Stacy who were sending death glares at Miss Davies.

"Well Miss Mañoso, perhaps you would like to tell us the year that Hitler took power." The teacher said maliciously. Carmella sighed.

"Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January 1933 by President Hindenburg. After Hindenburg's death in 1934 Hitler abolished the Presidential Office and merged it with his own to become 'Fuhrer and Chancellor' of Germany, meaning he had absolute power. So actually, he didn't take power, it was handed to him by Hindenburg." She replied. Miss Davies stared at her in surprise, along with half the class and Stacy and Shell. Miss Davies cleared her throat.

"Um…yes, that is correct. Well done. So class…" She said and Carmella went back to twirling her pen. Stacy nudged her.

"'Mella, you are totally smart!"

"Yeah, totally smart!" Shell chimed. Carmella smiled at them, she had to agree with them, in the most modest way possible.

"I know" She replied

Her first piece of homework was a history essay on the Nazi regime, easy she'd done one at her old school. Sophie, Lizzi and Nikki were waiting for them outside the classroom. As she walked out, Nikki and Lizzi linked arms with her and Stacy.

"We all have theatre studies now, Sophie and Shell have Geography." Nikki told her. Carmella had already learned that Sophie was the Fuhrer of their little gang and that Nikki was second in command.

"Ok, we'll meet by the water fountain in the entrance hall for break." Sophie instructed. Everyone nodded and went their separate ways. A lot of the other students in the hall gave them a wide berth and it soon became apparent to Carmella that these were the stereotypical 'popular' girls, the ones that thought they were better then everyone else and that everyone else hated. Sammy had been one at her old school, until Carmella and Freya had led a revolution and overthrown the 'popular' crowd. Carmella smiled at the memory. It had been fun and she'd made a load of new friends doing it. The only enemy she'd made was Sammy and that really didn't bother her. Carmella sighed mentally. She didn't know if she really wanted to be friends with these girls. Maybe she was being to judgemental, not all schools were the same and she didn't really know these girls yet. They walked into the drama hall and Carmella had to admit she was impressed. The hall was huge with black curtains all around the outside. The walls behind the curtains were black and the windows had been painted black. Two sets of theatre lights sat in the middle of the room pointing towards the stage. There were no tables or chairs, just a few gym benches stacked along the back wall.

"Someone put the Goths in charge of decorating." Nikki said, shooting a look of distaste at a group of four girls and three boys in gothic attire. They simply stared back.

"I think it's kinda cool." Carmella said "It gives it atmosphere." Nikki and Lizzi looked at her with an expression usually saved for the insane. Carmella shrugged and wondered into the middle of the hall. The ceiling was also black, but had tiny silver spots on it.

"They're stars. It's a map of the sky." A voice beside her said. Carmella looked and saw one of the Goths stood next to her. She had long white-blonde hair, with deep purple stripes in it and was wearing a long black and purple skirt and a black velvet corset-style top. Her boots were similar to Carmella's and she was very pretty. Carmella smiled at her.

"It's amazing. I really like it. I think it gives the hall a real depth and mysterious atmosphere." She said. The goth smiled.

"You like it? Woah, you must be a first. Well the first person to actually say out loud that they like it. Of course, a lot of people keep their opinions bottled up for fear of being mocked by the 'beautiful people' as they like to call themselves. You know them as Sophie, Nikki and co. You're Carmella, right? You're in my history class." She asked. Carmella nodded.

"Yep, Carmella Mañoso." She held out her hand. The goth shook it with a dainty pale hand, covered in various rings.

"That's a cool name, Spanish?" Carmella nodded.

"Kinda, Cuban. I guess it's practically the same thing."

"I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Lefay. I think it's French or something; it probably started off as something different but got dumbed down by immigration." Cassandra smiled. Carmella grinned.

"Hey goth-girl, get away from Carmella!" a voice shouted. Both girls turned and saw Nikki walking towards them.

"Keep your wig on Nicola, I wasn't about to mug her." Cassandra replied.

"Yeah right, you were probably just trying to cast a spell on her you freak." Nikki said maliciously. Carmella was shocked.

"Nikki we were just talking, it's cool."

"It is so not cool Carmella, you don't know what that look are like. They're probably just trying to get friendly with you so they can sacrifice you to their freaky cult leaders."

"Yeah Nicola, that is exactly what I was doing. I thought I'd go for the new girl because the only other choice was you and we need a pure virgin, so she was the obvious choice." Cassandra replied. Carmella tried hard not to laugh. A small crowd was gathering.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Nikki hissed.

"Oh that's right; I forgot you're a moron so I need to spell it out for you. It is common knowledge, Nicola, that you are a dirty whore." Cassandra smiled sweetly. Nikki looked furious.

"Whatever Cassandra, just because you a flaming lesbo!" she retorted.

"I can assure you, Caz is not a lesbian." A deep male voice contributed and one of the Goths appeared at Cassandra's side. He was almost six foot tall with dark brown hair and a floor length black leather trench coat. He draped his arm over Cassandra's shoulder and pulled her close to him.

"And besides, even if she were a lesbian, would it be such an awful and shocking thing? Unless you're a homophobic bigot Nicola." Another voice said one of the girls appeared by Cassandra's side. She had short, deep red hair and was wearing baggy black trousers and a lacy black top.

"Oh look Cassandra it's your girlfriend." Nikki hissed.

"Actually, Caz is my girlfriend Nicola, didn't you get the memo?" The guy asked.

"Leave it Dan, come on Meredith." Cassandra said, motioning to the red head. She glared at Nikki and walked off with her friends. Carmella stared at Nikki.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh Nikki? She was just being friendly." She said.

"OMG 'Mella, you are so lucky we found you! That little crew are total freaks. Cassandra used to be our friend but then she tried to get with Sophie at a party and, well obviously we disowned her. Meredith is her bodyguard and Dan pretends to be her boyfriend. The others are Amanda, the one with the choppy black hair-she's the only one who actually has natural black hair, the guy next to Amanda is Alex who bleached his hair by accident, that's why it's white, the other girl with the long black hair is Estella. She is seriously scary, we try to avoid her. She's a witch. The other guy is…oh I forget his name, um…oh yeah its Harry or something like that. But whatever, just avoid them at all costs. They're freaks." Nikki said and walked back to Lizzi, who was chatting to a load of guys. Carmella was staring subtly at Harry. He was pretty hot. His black hair stood in spikes with each tip dyed red and he was laughing with Alex and Dan, while the girls compared jewellery. The door of the hall opened, forcing Carmella to tear her eyes away from Harry, and a guy with dark brown hair and eyes like pools of melted chocolate walked in. Carmella almost melted on the spot, he was gorgeous! This school was full of hot guys! He looked at her, winked and smiled. She smiled back, a proper '200-watt' smile as Steph called it. He started to walk over to her, when the door opened again and a man who looked to be in his thirties walked in. The class all turned and looked at him.

"Morning everyone, you know the drill, four to a bench facing me." He instructed. Everyone moved and pulled a bench of the pile and arranged them to face the teacher. Nikki and Lizzi sat down on a bench with two guys, leaving Carmella looking for a space.

"Hey, wanna sit here?" A voice asked. She turned and saw the chocolate-eyed guy smiling at her. She nodded.

"Thanks!" she replied and sat down next to him.

"Ok everybody; quieten down so I can take the register." The teacher commanded. He zipped through the names, until…

"Carmella Mañoso, that's a new one. Carmella, are you here?" He asked.

"Here sir." Carmella replied, raising her hand slightly.

"It's Andy; everyone calls me Andy in these classes. So Carmella, do you want to tell us a bit about yourself? Well, that wasn't really a question, come to the front!" Andy commanded. Carmella groaned, stood and walked to the front of the class.

"Um…hi, I'm Carmella and I moved here from Florida a couple of weeks ago." She said briefly, hoping that would be enough.

"This is brilliant, ok class do you remember how we've been doing character hot-seating? Well we can try it out on Carmella here, that is if you don't object Carmella?" Andy said enthusiastically.

"Well, I…"

"Brilliant! Who wants to go first? Now all you need to do Carmella is answer the questions as yourself as honestly as you can, um…Jamie, you start us off!"

"Where about did you live in Florida?"

"I lived in Miami for a few years and then moved to Tampa Bay."

"How come you left?"

"Um…it's complicated. Basically I fell out with my Mom."

"What about?"

"Do I have to answer that?" Carmella asked quietly. Andy nodded.

"It'll be good for you to talk about it and for them to know how to act around you." Carmella sighed.

"Ok, my mom stole my boyfriend, who I realise now was a total asshole. We fell out about it and I ran away to Cuba." She answered. The class went quiet, until Cassandra asked.

"Why did you go to Cuba of all places?" Carmella was grateful to her for breaking the silence.

"I have family in Cuba and it's a place where I feel safe."

"How long did you stay?"

"Two months, then I came here to find my dad."

"Why find? Didn't you know where he was?"

"Not exactly, I hadn't seen him for six years." Another gasp from the class.

"Why did you come to Trenton high?"

"When Dad found out I'd been out of school for three months and had run away to Cuba, he got a bit angry and said I was going to school. I thought he was just joking to try and scare me." The class laughed. Andy jumped up.

"Thank you Carmella, that was very insightful and helpful, back to your seat and I'll carry on with the register!" Carmella resumed her seat next to the hottie, who smiled at her.

"Ok, do we have an Anthony Morelli?" Andy called. Carmella looked up. Morelli? He said that he had a kid the same age as her, interesting…

"Yep." The guy next to her answered. She looked at him in surprise.

"You're a Morelli? As in, Joe Morelli?"

"Yeah he's my uncle. Woah wait a second, did they say your surname was Mañoso? You're related to Ranger, aren't you?" It was more of a statement then it was a question. Carmella nodded.

"I'm his daughter."  
"Yeah, Uncle Joe was telling us about your dad. He's a mercenary, right? And didn't he steal Joe's pregnant girlfriend?" Anthony said coldly.

"No he didn't steal her, she left Joe because he said some bad stuff and she came to live with us." Carmella replied in an equally cold tone. Anthony grinned suddenly.

"Did you threaten to curse Grandma Bella?" He asked. Carmella sighed.

"Yes, she kept saying she was going to put the eye on me. I don't even know what 'the eye' is. I just told her that if she did, I'd curse her." He laughed softly.

"I've gotta say it cupcake, this relationship is not off to a good start."

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I sat next to Tank in the control room, pretending to do some work.

"Bored Steph?" He asked. I looked at him blankly.

"How did you know?"

"You've completely shredded the pile of rough paper I gave you. Lucky those weren't important documents." He grinned slightly. I smiled and went back to watching the monitor. It was fixed on the gym where Bobby and Lester were working out. I hadn't noticed that before! Bobby climbed off the treadmill and peeled his sweat soaked shirt off. Lester replaced the weights he'd been lifting, stood opposite Bobby and also took his shirt off so both men were just wearing running shorts. Interesting…They walked onto the crash mats in the centre of the room and bowed to each other. Lester said something and Bobby laughed. They started dancing round each other, still talking casually. Then, Bobby lunged at Lester and they tumbled to the floor, wrestling. I sat forward in my chair suddenly very interested. This was better then professional wrestling. I mentally replaced Bobby and Lester with Ranger and The Rock. Now that was something I would pay good money to see. I heard someone laughing and looked over to see Tank almost doubled over with laughter

"What is it?" I asked, wondering what was so funny.

"Ranger and The Rock? Is that one of your little fantasies?" He managed to say. I felt my cheeks flush.

"Did I say that out loud?" I asked, absolutely mortified. Tank nodded, still laughing. Could this get much worse? Of course it could.

"The Rock? I've gotta say babe, I've never heard that one before." A familiar amused voice said. I spun in my chair and saw Ranger leaning against the wall. My face burned red. Tank looked up, saw Ranger and burst into a new wave of hysterical laughter. I really did not think it was at all funny.

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Carmella balanced her lunch tray on one hand and tried to put her bag back onto her shoulder with the other hand. She was going to drop the tray. She knew it, it was inevitable. She would drop it and the soda would spill down her top and she would slip in the suspicious looking pasta salad and everyone would laugh at her. She squeaked as the tray started slipping and the food slipped ominously to the edge. 'Just drop the bag' the voice of reason said 'drop the bag and balance the tray' it was the logical thing to do 'No! Don't drop the bag! Your phone is in the bag, if you drop it then it might break! You left your ornamental butterfly hair clip in the bottom pocket; it'd be crushed if you dropped it!' The voice of the teenager replied. The voice of the teenager won; it always did.

"Oh hell! No no no no no!" She squeaked quietly. The tray was going, it was going, it was…a hand shot out and grabbed it from Carmella's. She let out a breath of relief and looked up to see Harry holding the tray. She smiled and hitched the bag up onto her shoulder.

"Woah, thank you! I am so indebted to you!" She smiled, taking the tray off him.

"Indebted to me hey? Oh the power, the possibilities." He grinned. She laughed softly. He was really cute looking. Cute in a dark, vampirish sort of way. He looked more casual then the other goths; he was wearing baggy black trousers and a Metallica top. A think silver chain with a cross on it was around his neck.

"You like Metallica?" Carmella asked. 'Duh, he's wearing a top that proclaims he likes Metallica, honestly Carmella you can be so dumb sometimes!' she scolded herself. He looked down at his top and then smiled.

"Yeah, they're cool. Rock's the only way to go." He stated. Carmella nodded.

"I totally agree. I think the old stuff is better, more original. I like Meat Loaf and Queen especially." She said. Why was she telling him this? Like he'd actually care what music she liked! He nodded.

"Yeah? That's pretty cool. So does everyone call you Carmella or do you have an abbreviation?" He asked. She smiled.

"Well, the 'beautiful people' have started calling me Mella for some reason"

"Yeah, that's because they can only manage words with two syllables." He smiled. Carmella mock-frowned.

"They are my friends you know." He laughed.

"Yeah, sure. They only befriended you because you're extremely pretty and they saw you as a threat. If they got you early, they could brainwash you." He said darkly. Carmella stared at him.

"Um…I don't know what to say to that…you think I'm pretty?" She said. He grinned.

"So, back to abbreviations."

"Yeah, well my old friend used to call me Mel back hom-back in Florida, but that doesn't seem to fit now. Let me think…dad calls me Sweetheart, that really doesn't go, um…Dad's friends call me Princess and my friend Oli calls me Caramel. That's it. Do you have nicknames or are you just Harry?" She asked.

"Just Harry. Or Hazza, but generally it's Hazza. So you are now Princess Caramel. Is that ok your highness?" He asked, doing a elaborate bow. Carmella laughed.

"Ok course kind sir." She replied. He straightened up and grinned. Suddenly a shadow fell across them. Harry looked up and groaned. Carmella turned and saw Anthony Morelli stood behind them. He grinned slowly, his eyes resembling a puppy. Carmella smiled slightly.

"Hi Morelli." She said politely. He grinned.

"Hey Mañoso, what do you want Goth?" He spat at Harry. Harry just glared and started to walk away.

"Hey Harry, wait up!" Carmella said. He stopped and turned. She handed him her lunch tray and fished a piece of paper out of her bag on which she scribbled her cell phone number.

"Here, um…gimme a ring sometime. We'll go shopping; I could do your make up for you because, no offence, your eye-liner is kinda…smudgy. I have one at home that would really go with your eyes." She grinned and handed him the paper, taking her tray back off him. He grinned.

"I'll keep that in mind your highness, and remember you owe me. See you around Princess Caramel." He winked and walked off. Carmella turned back to Anthony.

"Hey, that was unfair. I was talking to him, you had no right to just come over here and talk to him like that. You are so arrogant." She said and turned to walk away.

"Oh come on Mañoso, I was just messing around, me and Harry are great buddies. He knew I was just kidding. So what are you up to this lunchtime?" He asked. Carmella shrugged.

"I dunno, I couldn't find Sophie and the rest of them after Chemistry so I just came straight here. I think I'll just do a bit of exploring." He grinned.

"You could come to the field, we're having football practice. Loads of people watch. I'll take you now if you want" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. Carmella raised her eyebrows.

"Sure, lead on."

The stands around the field were scattered with students. The stand closest to the field had five familiar people on it. Sophie noticed her and waved.

"Mella, over here!" She called. Carmella smiled and walked over with Anthony beside her.

"Hi guys." She smiled.

"Hey, sorry, Lizzi forgot to tell you we meet out here for lunch." Sophie said, shooting a scorning look at Lizzi, who looked at her feet, ashamed. Anthony touched Carmella's arm.

"I'll see you later Mañoso, enjoy the game." He winked and jogged across the field. Carmella sat on the stand next to Lizzi.

"OMG Mella, have you got something going with Anthony? What about your boyfriend?" Stacy asked.

"He's not my-"

"I don't blame you, Anthony is totally hot. You know, Sophie used to have a thing for him, she'd-"

"Stacy, shut up!" Sophie snapped. A gang of cheerleaders were practising on the sidelines. Carmella watched them intently. She loved cheerleading. She'd done it at her old school and had been pretty good.

"What's up Mella?" Lizzi asked.

"Huh? Oh, I was just watching the cheerleaders…do you know if they're having try-outs?" Carmella asked. Lizzi nodded.

"Yeah they are, a couple of the girls dropped out a few weeks ago. Tryouts are tomorrow lunchtime. Are you gonna go for it?" She asked. Carmella nodded.

"That's way cool! There are two spaces and Sophie and Nikki are trying out! It'd be cool if you all got in!" Lizzi smiled. Apparently maths wasn't Lizzi's strong point. Carmella nodded and focused her attention on the field. The guys had all run out from the changing rooms and were throwing a ball between them. Anthony looked up at the stands and waved. Carmella smiled and waved back. The five girls looked at her.

"You are totally flirting with him!" Shell squealed.

"What? No I'm-"

"It's so cute; you two would make such a cute couple!" Nikki chipped in.

"It's nothing like that-"

"You should totally ask him out!" Stacy chirped

"I'm not going to-oh forget it." Carmella muttered and focused her attention on the game.

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Ranger came back into the control room a couple of hours later. Tank and I were playing rummy with our feet up on the control panel. He cleared his throat and we both dropped our cards and pretended to be watching the monitor screens. He sighed.

"You two are poor actors." He said. I spun around and grinned. Tank looked up.

"What's up boss?" He asked.

"I have to go out after a skip, where're Bobby and Lester? I need one of them to go get Carmella from school." Tank shrugged.

"Ask Steph, she's been perving on them all day." He grinned. I hit him on the shoulder.

"I have not! Anyway, they're in the offices." I replied. Ranger grinned and hit the intercom. Lester's voice answered.

"Hey Lester, I need you to go get Carmella from school."

"Sure thing boss." Ranger disconnected and looked down at me, stroking a loose curl off my face and behind my ear.

"I'll see you later babe." He dropped a kiss on my forehead and walked out.

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Carmella skipped down the steps of the school and saw a black BMW parked outside the school with Lester slouched against it. The five girls walked up to her.

"We're going to the mall, wanna come with?" Stacy asked. Carmella shook her head.

"I can't tonight." She replied, still looking at Lester and the car. She loved that car. She had every intention of having that car when she got her proper license. Either that or the Porsche Boxster. The girls followed her gaze and saw Lester.

"Woah, check out the cutie! And the car as well!" Sophie grinned. Carmella smiled as well, this could be fun.

"Why don't you go and talk to him?" She suggested. Sophie laughed.

"Oh you are so naive; I can't just go talk to him." Carmella shrugged.

"Ok, I will." She said and walked down the path towards the car.

"Hey Lester!" She smiled.

"Hi Princess, how was school?" He asked. She shrugged and linked arms with him.

"It was ok, I guess." She replied as Lester escorted her to the passenger side, opening the door for her. She slid in and looked up to the school entrance. The five girls were staring, mouths open in shock. She waved as they pulled away from the curb and sped down the street.

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Thanks to everyone who read, hope you like this chapter and I'll try to update soon, but I've got a load of school work, anyone want to write an English essay on _Much ado about nothing _for me?!?!!?!! Please please please review, any suggestions or comments are welcome but please nothing nasty! Thanks v. much to Rangersgirl and Mcshnee, I appreciate it! Arigato!


	17. Heartbeats

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Tank and I had started a new game of rummy when the control room door was thrown open again and Carmella walked in.

"Hello loyal fans!" She smiled. Tank grinned at her.

"Hello oh wonderful one, we've been awaiting your return with baited breath." He replied. Carmella nodded and sat on the desk.

"That's what I like to hear." She grinned and looked at me. "Good day?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yep, I beat Tank at rummy four times." I replied.

"Yeah but in fairness, Tank sucks at rummy. He actually does, I have never met anyone as crap at rummy as Tank is, his rummy skills are of a poor quality." She said, smiling sweetly at Tank. He glared and shoved her. She flailed and flopped off the table, letting out a little 'eep' as she went. I burst out laughing, as Carmella's disgruntled face appeared over the edge of the table. She glared ferociously at Tank. He laughed and offered her his hand. She glared some more and gave him the finger.

"Where's Dad?" She asked, clambering to her feet. I shrugged.

"He's gone after a skip, he shouldn't be too long. How was school?" I asked. She shrugged. Typical teenager response.

"It was ok. There were these girls who refer to themselves as the 'beautiful people' and are total bitches. They wear matching clothes and everything." She replied and pulled a bag of potato chips out of her school bag.

"Did they give you a hard time?" I asked, feeling slightly concerned.

"Huh? No, they kind of adopted me as a member of their group. I'm just staying friendly with everyone for the time being. There's this kid, Anthony Morelli, he is so totally arrogant and he thinks that he owns me or something. Like today I was just chatting to Harry in the canteen and he came over and was all like-"

"Wait, wait. Anthony Morelli? Morelli?" I almost shouted.

"What's he done now?" A voice growled from the doorway. We all turned and saw Ranger stood in the doorway.

"Hola Papa!" Carmella chimed. He walked in the room and slung an arm around her shoulder, giving her a half-hug. He was such a great father, Carmella had said so herself and I had the evidence here right in front of me.  
"Steph?" Tank tapped me lightly on the shoulder. I looked around.

"Huh?" I looked around, dazed.

"Ranger just asked what Morelli had done."

"What? Oh, not Joe Morelli, Carmella was just telling us about the new generation of Morellis." I replied. Ranger nodded and looked at Carmella.

"I might become a Goth…" she mused thoughtfully. Ranger stared at her.

"You're moving schools." He replied flatly. Carmella blinked in shock, then grinned.

"Like hell!" she replied. Ranger smiled and nudged her.

"Had you going for a second. Anyway, tell me about your day." He replied.

"Anthony Morelli seems to think he owns every girl in the school and has power over all the guys. Harry is totally nice though, he's really cool and funny, it doesn't matter that he's a Goth. Cassandra's nice as well and I think that Nikki was talking rubbish when she said Caz was a lesbian because Caz has a boyfriend. Sophie is obviously a bitch and I'm trying out for the cheerleading squad." Carmella said. She didn't seem to breathe during the whole speech. Ranger stared at her, then looked at me.

"Goths? Is she serious?"

"Hey 'she' is right here and yes I am serious. They're actually nicer then half the other kids in the school. Well, I've only spoken to Harry and Caz but they're nice. Estella is kinda scary. Anyway, at the moment I've been accepted into the dumb bimbo friendship group and they hate the goths so at the moment I'm not really officially friends with Harry and Caz, I'm scared I may have to get a facial piercing of some variety if I become an official goth. Oh and everyone thinks that you're my boyfriend." Carmella smiled at her father. There was a moment of shocked silence, before Tank burst out laughing. Ranger was looking totally stunned.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"When you dropped me off today and gave me a hug, they just assumed and no one will listen to me when I tell them you're not. And the 'beautiful people', especially Sophie, think that you're hot." Ranger shrugged.

"Well, that is the general consensus."

"Arrogant sod." I muttered. Ranger gave me a 200 watt grin and I almost melted.

Later on in the evening, I wondered into the gym and found Tank, Lester, Bobby, Cal, Hal and Junior stood in a circle, cheering and shouting. Tank and Bobby were counting something. I walked over to them and muscled in between Lester and Bobby. Carmella and Ranger were on the floor doing sit ups at a ridiculous pace.

"What's going on?" I asked Lester. He grinned.

"Ranger got in another discussion with Carmella about her eating habits and she said that even with the doughnuts, she was still fitter then him. So they're having a sit up competition to see who is fitter. First to 100 wins. Tank's counting for Carmella and Bobby's counting Ranger's." He explained. I smiled and looked down at them. Carmella was going slightly pink around the edges, but still with a determined look on her face. Ranger looked as cool and collected as he always did. Surprisingly it seemed as though Carmella was in the lead.

"…96, 97, 98, 99, 100!" Tank shouted. Carmella let out a breath and flopped on the floor. Ranger sighed and stood up.

"She was 8 ahead of you boss, you're losing it!" Bobby grinned as Tank hauled Carmella to her feet and held her arm in the air.

"Lady and Gentlemen, I give you your winner!" He announced. Junior put an arm around her waist to support her as she grinned and panted.

"In fairness, Carmella is more out of breath then Ranger." I pointed out. He threw an arm over my shoulder.

"Thanks Babe, but trust me, they all wanted Carmella to beat me."

Later that night, after we'd bid Carmella good night, Ranger and I got the elevator up to the 7th floor. I was so tired and I didn't know why. I hadn't done anything energetic in the slightest. I sat on the bed and sighed. Ranger looked over at me.

"You ok babe?" he asked. I looked over at him and nodded. Oh god, he had his shirt off. Then I noticed the large cut across his chest.

"Holy hell Batman, when did that happen? Who did it?" I asked, stroking his bare chest and tracing the cut with my finger. He winced slightly and stopped my hand with his.

"Just a rough skip babe, nothing to worry about." He said softly. I gazed up into his eyes, they were so deep. I smiled slightly.

"You're such a great father." I said softly. He looked at me.

"I've gotta say babe, I'm having some pretty un-fatherly thoughts right now." He said, wolf grin in place. I smiled.

"I'm just thinking, you're so great with Carmella."

"Babe, she's my daughter. It kinda comes naturally." He grinned again. I smiled and brushed a hand down his cheek.

"You're amazing. You have so many sides to you and you are just amazing. And you are extremely good looking." I grinned. He smiled and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"You're amazing too babe." He kissed me again and went into the bathroom. I took the opportunity to get into my pyjamas. He emerged in his delicious boxer shorts and climbed into bed next to me. He wrapped his arm around my stomach and kissed my shoulder.

"I'll always be here for you babe, you and the baby. I will care for you, I swear. I love you." He whispered. I didn't know what to say.

"I…I, well…"

"You don't have to say anything babe, goodnight." And with that he fell asleep. But I couldn't sleep so easily. I was awake and worrying. I knew Ranger was a great father, but only to his own daughter. Even when her paternity was doubted, he had still been with her as her father until then. I did love him very much. But I also loved Joe, granted not so much at the moment but still. If Ranger knew from the start that the child wasn't his, would he be so fatherly? He said he would, but it's easy to say something when you're not actually in the situation. Maybe he just wanted to believe he'd care for the baby no matter what. I didn't know. There was only one way to find out and that could result in me losing Joe AND Ranger forever.

I rolled out of bed the next morning and pulled on a skirt and a long sleeve top. It was cold outside and winter was really making an impression on everyone's wardrobe. Except, of course, Carmella's. Not even another ice age could get that girl out of mini skirts. I laughed slightly at the thought and walked out to find Ranger going through a pile of laundry, grinning slightly.

"Problem?" I asked. He straightened and looked at me, holding up a padded black lace bra in one hand and black lace French knickers in the other.

"I like these, very sexy. Are they new?" He purred. I looked at them.

"Ranger by no stretch of the imagination would those knickers fit me. And depressingly the bra looks slightly too big by a cup size." The front door banged open and Carmella stormed in looking angry.

"Hey Stephie, hi loser." She greeted us, then looked at the items of lingerie in Ranger's hands and smiled.

"I've been looking for those everywhere! Woah, I'd have been bummed if I hadn't found them, I wonder why Ella put them in your pile, they're obviously not yours and they're not Stephie's size." She shrugged and pulled the underwear out of Ranger's grasp. He looked mortified.

"Those are yours?" He asked in shock. She nodded.

"Yep, my lucky underwear. I need it today for cheerleading tryouts."

"Why, are you going to cheer in your underwear?" He muttered. Carmella stared at him.

"The concept of lucky underwear is completely lost on you, isn't it?" She said and flounced out the door.

She came back in about twenty minutes later, just after breakfast had arrived, wearing a knee length black gypsy skirt, a long sleeve black top and a black blazer jacket with regular black suede boots. I looked at her.

"Ok, is there a dress code for this building, because everyone, bar me, wears strictly black." I sighed, resigned. Carmella grinned and grabbed the bagel I'd just finished smothering in cream cheese.

"I wear other colours. And when dad is feeling really wild, he wears grey or khaki green." She said smiling. Ranger swatted her round the head.

"Wise ass." He muttered. She stuck her tongue out and danced out of his reach.

"Hey can I drive myself to school?" She asked suddenly. Ranger stared at her.

"No." He replied flatly.

"Why the hell not? I've had my beginners permit for ages and I can drive. I'm can get my conditional license now! I learnt in Florida."

"No." The answer was the same. Carmella glared.

"Madre let me drive." She grumbled.

"Sweetheart your mother is mentally unstable. Using her is not a good argument." He smiled and kissed her lightly on the head. "Maybe in a couple of weeks, we'll go and get you a conditional license sorted if you're good." Carmella smiled.

"Thank you daddy! But, um, what are your views on motorbikes and such, because I can drive them as well!" Ranger glared.

"Don't push it."

I had another check up that day, so after dropping Carmella off at school, Ranger drove me straight to the hospital. We sat in the waiting room, watching the clock slowly ticking until it was my appointment.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to, I know you have other things to do and I won't mind if you leave." I said to him, feeling uncomfortable with the silence. He smiled at me.

"I want to be here babe, but if you want to do this alone, then just say and I'll go. I don't want to intrude." He said quietly. I smiled and grasped his hand.

"I want you to be here."

Carmella walked up the front path towards the school, smoothing her skirt as she went. She could she Harry and Caz stood with the other goths by the side of the school. She started to walk over to them, when someone grabbed her arm. She turned and saw Anthony leering at her.

"What do you want Morelli?" She asked, severely irritated by the sheer arrogance of this guy. He grinned.

"Good morning to you too sweetie pie." He released her arm and looked her up and down "I gotta say Carmella, I preferred the shorter skirt." He leered again. Carmella rolled her eyes and started to walk away, when he grabbed her arm again.

"Don't touch me Morelli, I don't like it." She said in a calm but deadly voice. He grinned and let go off her arm.

"I'll see you around sweetie pie." He grinned and walked off, disappearing into the crowd of students. Carmella shuddered involuntarily. That guy was uber-creepy.

I lay on the bed and tried to take deep, calming breaths. Ranger was stood beside me, holding my hand. The doctor walked in and smiled.

"Hello Ms Plum, how are you today?" She continued before waiting for an answer "That's great; now then, you're 12 weeks pregnant, correct?" I nodded. She smiled and wrote something down on her clipboard.

"Ok, I'm just going to do a scan now and check everything is ok." She got out the little monitor screen and wheeled it in front off me. After a few minutes a picture came up on screen with what looked like a kidney bean in the middle. Ranger smiled, but the doctor frowned. I looked at her.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly very panicked. She shook her head.

"Nothing is wrong exactly, it's just…irregular. You see Ms Plum; I'm picking up three heartbeats." I stared at her in utter shock. Triplets? I was having triplets! I wasn't even aware real people had triplets; I'd thought it was just something that happened on TV. Then Ranger voiced exactly how I was feeling.

"Holy shit."

Carmella stood in the sports hall feeling extremely nervous. She had her routine all prepared and she knew she was good, but there were all these people watching her…Half the male population of the school had turned up to watch as well. Sophie and Nikki were doing each others hair and babbling incessantly. There were a few girls Carmella didn't know, she probably had some classes with them but couldn't put faces to names. Then she noticed Caz, Harry and Estella stood by the changing room entrance. Caz had her PE kit on and was arguing with the other two, interesting…Carmella mosied over and smiled.

"Hi Caz, hi Harry. And Estella, right?" She smiled at Estella who, surprisingly, smiled back and held out a hand.

"Yeah, and you are Carmella. Harry and Caz have told us about you. You trying out?" She asked, observing the kit. Carmella nodded.

"Yeah, I did it at my old school so I thought I may as well try." Estella nodded encouragingly.

"Caz wants to do it as well, but she's scared what the other girls will say when she tries. She's very good, Mandy and I coach her. Haz, Alex and Dan perv."

"Hey she's my girlfriend, I'm allowed to perv." A voice said from behind them. Carmella turned and saw Dan, Amanda, Meredith and Alex. Dan walked over to Cassandra and planted a kiss on her lips. She smiled then looked at Amanda.

"Mandy, I can't do it. They'll all laugh at me." Mandy raised an eyebrow.

"Since when have you cared what they think? You are good, better then those airheads and way better then Sophie and Nikki, I've seen them practising and they suck." She replied. Caz shrugged and mumbled something inaudible.

"Come on Caz, just think; if you and me get on the team we'll have so much fun! It doesn't matter what other people think of you. If they insult you it's just a reflection on how pointless they are as human beings." Carmella smiled encouragingly. Caz sighed.

"Ok, but if it goes totally wrong then I want you guys to be ready with a fake ID and a plane ticket to Europe." She said. Meredith grinned and slung an arm around her shoulders.

"That's the spirit!" They all walked to the stands to watch, while Caz joined the other contenders. Harry stayed behind.

"Hey Princess, thanks for that, she really needed to hear that. You're a good person, but your taste in friends" he said, looking at Sophie and Nikki "is appalling." He grinned and ran to join his friends on the stand. Carmella walked over to Caz and smiled. Sophie and Nikki cast her dirty looks. She ignored them. Morelli Jnr was sat on the front row of the stands, leering as usual. A few girls did their auditions; they were ok but nothing spectacular. The time really seemed to be dragging by. Then it was Nikki's turn. After Nikki was Sophie. The guys on the stands were going nuts though. Except Harry, Alex and Dan who were reading magazines. Then Caz's name was called, and they all dropped their magazines and looked up. Caz was shaking like a leaf and had gone paler then usual. Carmella gave her a quick hug.

"You'll be great. Just do your best." She whispered comfortingly. Caz nodded and stepped out onto the floor. A Destiny's Child song filled the arena. Caz looked slightly appalled. She looked up at her friends in the stand and mouthed 'didn't they have any Green Day?' Amanda burst out laughing and shrugged. Caz grinned and assumed her starting position. She was good. Correction, she was amazing. She flipped, danced, turned…everything. Carmella grinned, the girl could really move. The song finished and Caz scuttled back to her seat. The people watching were all calling and applauding.

"You were so amazing!" Carmella squealed. Caz grinned, panting slightly.

"It's you now, you'll be great!" She gave her a quick hug and Carmella walked onto the main floor and stood in front of the judges. There were cat-calls and wolf-whistles coming from the stands, accompanied by shouts of 'yeah, shake that ass!' and 'get your kit off!' The judges smiled slightly. The same song Caz had danced to filled the air. Carmella took a deep breath and then started. It was the same routine that had got her into the last squad, so she hoped it was good enough for this one. When the music finally finished, she smiled at the judges.

"Ok, you were the last one; the results will be on the sports notice board at the end of lunch." The chief judge said politely. Carmella nodded and walked back to Caz and the others.

"Carmella you were amazing!" Caz squealed and threw her arms around Carmella's neck. She laughed and hugged Caz back. Sophie and Nikki walked past, glaring nastily.

"I wouldn't encourage her Mella; you'll be her new crush." Sophie sneered. Carmella looked at her.

"Sophie, I'm not about to make enemies here but why don't you just try to be nice to people. You may find that people actually start to like you." She replied. Sophie looked like she was about to launch an attack on Carmella.

"Hey, people here do like me Carmella." She hissed. Caz laughed.

"Yeah right. Everyone hates you Caz. Seriously, no one likes you. And why would they? You're a bitch and a slut and an utterly pointless human being." She said. Sophie and Nikki both glared again. Sophie turned to Carmella.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your life." She snarled.  
"Oh I very much doubt that, believe me I have made some way bigger mistake. I am talking mammoth size mistakes. You have no idea, but that was a good try at threatening, but you might wanna spit less next time. People may take you more seriously if you don't drench them in saliva." Carmella replied, wiping her face to prove her point. Caz was grinning. Sophie took a step towards her.

"You dumb bitch, I'm gonna kick your ass-" She said.

"No, you're not." Mandy said as she stepped between them. Carmella looked around. The other goths were all stood around her, looking menacing.

"You are not going to lay one scuzzy finger on her, or you'll have us to answer to." Estella hissed darkly. Sophie cast a dark look at her.

"Whatever, we're going. But I'm warning you, I'm going to make your life here hell." She snarled at Carmella.

"Oh look at me Sophie, I'm shaking in my little gym shoes." Carmella retorted. The two girls both glared and stormed off. Carmella smiled at Estella and Mandy.

"Thanks for that." She said appreciatively.  
"She'll want to make up with you soon, she fancies your boyfriend and she's planning on stealing him. She was talking about it in biology earlier." Mandy said warningly. Harry looked at them.

"You have a boyfriend?" He asked, his voice a bit strained. Carmella sighed.

"No, he's not my boyfriend. He's my dad. I've been trying to tell them that but they just won't listen. It's ridiculous." She explained. They all nodded. After a few more minutes of idle chat, Caz and Carmella went to get changed back into their normal clothes while the others went outside to wait for them. On the changing room notice board, there was a large poster advertising the winter formal. Caz looked at it.

"Are you going?" She asked. Carmella shrugged.

"I don't know what it is." She replied.

"It's just a winter ball. I'm going with Dan, Estella's going with her super-cool college boyfriend Michael and I think Alex and Mandy are going together but I don't know. It's difficult to tell with those two, one minute they're together, next minute they're yelling at each other. But anyway, you don't have to have a date, it doesn't really matter." Caz explained. Carmella nodded and studied the poster. Just then, the cheerleaders swept in to the room. They smiled at them politely. The head cheerleader walked over to them.

"Hi, we've decided on who should make the squad. I'm not going to lie to you; you two were by fair the best dancers but it's just that Nikki and Sophie fit in with the whole image of the squad better. We can't have a couple of goths on the team; we'd be a laughing squad."

"Hey, Carmella's not a goth!" Caz protested.

"Well, no but-" It was then that Carmella noticed that the whole of the squad were white.

"Oh, I get it. Don't worry Caz; they're totally not worth it. If they can't see talent when they see it, then that is their loss." Carmella said softly. Caz nodded.

"You're totally right, come on, the others will be waiting." She said and they walked out of the changing room onto the field. The others were sat on a blanket under a tree on the edge of the field. As they walked over to the tree, Carmella stopped suddenly.

"Look Caz, I'd understand if you felt weird about me just leeching onto you and your friends. I mean, I've barely talked to any of you." Caz sighed and smiled.

"It's fine Carmella, honestly. Harry could barely stop talking about you yesterday afternoon. It'll be cool. You saw the way they stuck up for you back there, they wouldn't do that for just anyone. Now come on, they're going to wonder what we're talking about." She smiled. Carmella took a few deep breaths, then walked up to the others. Harry smiled and scooted up so she could sit down.

"Hey there Princess Caramel. You were great out there." He smiled. Carmella sighed.

"Yeah? Well, I wasn't good enough." She replied sadly. Harry and the others stared at her.

"You found out all ready? You didn't get in? That's ridiculous, you were the best! Oh, you and Caz." Harry quickly corrected himself. Caz smiled.

"I didn't get in either. Sophie and Nikki got in." She told them.

"What!" Estella shouted "You two were way better!" She sat, fuming.

"Oh yeah, they said that we were the best, but that Sophie and Nikki fit the whole cheer image better then us, they said that they'd be a laughing stock if they let a couple of Goths on the squad."

"But Carmella's not a Goth." Harry pointed out. Carmella nodded.

"That's true, but did you notice any ethnic minorities on the team?" she asked. Estella shook her head.

"The whole system is unjust. Its crap, total and utter crap." She muttered. They spent the rest of lunch chatting about everything and nothing. Suddenly, Caz brought up the subject of the Winter Formal. She looked at Mandy.

"So are you two going together?" She asked Alex and Mandy. They both nodded.

"Yeah, well it's not like anyone else would have him." Mandy grinned. Alex stuck his tongue out at her. Estella flipped her hair and said something about Michael. Meredith and Harry stayed quiet. Mandy looked at Carmella.

"I like your skirt." She announced. Carmella smiled.

"Thanks, it's one of my favourites." As she said it, her mobile rang. She fished it out of her bag and looked at the read out; Dad. She stood and flipped it open.

"Hola Papa! What's up?" She asked.

"Hey Sweetheart, listen could you make your own way home, it's just that we're all kinda busy. Oh, Steph has some news for you when you get back." He said, sounding like an excited child.

"What is it? Is it about the baby?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's about the baby."

"Ok, put Steph on. Now you have to tell me!" She commanded. Her dad sighed.

"Ok, fine. Steph, Carmella wants to talk to you. Steph, where are you?" He called. There was a clunk as the handset was put on a surface, and the sound of footsteps. Then there was a bang and a scream. Carmella stiffened as the receiver was picked up.

"Hello Carmella." A raspy, unfamiliar voice said "You probably don't remember who I am, it's been a long time. But I remember you. I have here your father and Stephanie. If you want to see them again I suggest you get back here, now." The line went dead. Carmella stood there, trembling. Before she realised, tears were rolling down her face. A hand rested on her shoulder, causing her to jump. She turned and saw Harry.

"Princess, what's wrong?" He asked softly. She looked and saw the whole group staring at her with matching looks of concern.

"Um…I was t..t..talking to my dad, then there was a scream and someone picked up the phone and said that they had my dad and Steph and that I better get home quick if I wanted to see them again." She sobbed. Harry wrapped his arms around her. The others were on their feet.

"I have my car today, you, Harry, Mandy, Alex and I will go to your house. We're not about to let you go in alone." Estella said, pulling her keys out of her bag. "Dan, Caz and Meredith, make up some excuse to tell the teachers." Mandy instructed and the five of them took off running across the field, Carmella praying she wasn't too late.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter. Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	18. I'll refresh your memory

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

They pulled up outside the RangeMan building and Carmella jumped out the car.

"Ok thanks, I guess I'll see you tomorrow…hopefully." She muttered. Harry climbed out the car.

"Do really think that we'd just let you go in there on your own?" He asked. Carmella stared at him, then shook her head.

"No, you can't come. It's too dangerous; I don't know who is in there or what they're capable of. I don't want to put any of you in danger." Now they were all out of the car and looking at her. Mandy looked up at the building.

"Sweet, you live here? That is way cool!" She exclaimed, then looked at the expressions on everyone's faces as the stared at her in shock "Right sorry, I guess now isn't the time." She mumbled. Estella walked to Carmella's side and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I'd be worried sick if we didn't come with you, you'd hate to have us worrying on your conscience." She grinned. Carmella sighed.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" She muttered. Harry gave her a hug and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Nope, sorry baby." Carmella nodded, took a deep breath and walked towards the front door.

I huddled in the corner, sobbing quietly. I could see Ranger, collapsed on the floor, not moving at all. I didn't know what they'd hit him with, but it sure as hell was effective. I thought I'd heard a gunshot when he'd walked in the room, but I didn't know for sure. I didn't know where the merry men were, I guess they'd gone out, or our assailants had got to them as well. There were three of them, all wearing balaclavas and dressed totally in black. Ranger wannabees. What did they want with Carmella? If she was anything like her father then she'd be here in a matter of seconds. I really hoped she wasn't as much like Ranger as she seemed to be. I didn't want her to get hurt as well. The sound of a phone ringing filled the air. One of the men looked at the other two.

"Go find out where that's coming from and make sure it stops." He commanded. One of the men nodded and disappeared from the room.

Carmella held her cell phone against her ear, waiting impatiently for Tank to pick up.

"I'm sorry; we could not connect your call. Please try again later." The annoying automatic voice told her. She swore loudly and disconnected. Harry looked at her.

"No joy?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Nope, I'm going in." she announced. Estella, Alex and Mandy all stood up from the bench they'd been slouched on. Mandy pulled a small can of pepper spray out of her bag. Alex looked at her.

"Who would attack you? You look terrifying!" He stated. Mandy shrugged and grinned. Carmella walked towards the front door and pushed it. It swung open easily. That wasn't right, there was a key card system, the door shouldn't open without use of a key card. It was one of the most advanced Carmella had ever seen, so it had either been broken down from the outside or the system had been disabled from the inside. Neither thought was particularly comforting. She walked into the lobby with her four new friends following her. It was completely empty. The guards had gone from the front desk. The security camera swivelled to point at them; they were going to be a problem. Ok think…Carmella jumped up onto the front desk and reached up towards the camera.

"Harry can you pass me the scissors from the desk?" She asked. Harry nodded and handed her the scissors.

"Why not just pull the wires out?" Mandy asked, watching intently.

"Because then anyone could just plug them back in. This way I can be sure that we're unseen at least while we're in here." She explained and cut the wires at the back. She jumped off the desk and went through the drawers. Finally in the bottom draw she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the black Magnum .44 and checked to make sure it was loaded.

"You can't use that, they're dangerous!" Estella exclaimed. Carmella looked at her.

"I know how to use it, don't worry. Now there should be some tasers somewhere and some stun guns. Check the drawers over there." She instructed. Harry pulled the drawers open and pulled out three tasers, four stun guns and a couple of cans of defence spray. Carmella picked up a taser and told the others to grab an item of weaponry.

"Ok, here's what I want you guys to do. Estella I want you to stay here and call me if anyone tries to come in or go out. Don't try to stop them in case they're armed. Do you want someone to stay with you?" Carmella asked. Estella shook her head.

"No, it's cool."

"Ok thanks, it's nothing personal, it's just that you're wearing the least practical outfit." Carmella smiled, looking at her floor length layered black skirt and her flared sleeve top. Estella smiled and gave her a quick hug.

"Good luck." She whispered. Carmella nodded and looked to the others.

"Right, I need to go to the fourth floor to get changed quickly. This skirt isn't that practical. I don't know which of the floors these people are hiding out on. All of the floors are monitored except the seventh floor, but there's no way they could get up there. It won't be the fourth floor or the sixth floor because those are both residential floors and there wouldn't be anywhere particularly practical to hide out. I'm, thinking it won't be the gym because it's just not a great place to camp out, there are too many objects that could be used as a weapon and so I think it's the office and surveillance floor. It makes the most sense. So we'll go to the fourth floor then to the offices." She instructed and started walking towards the lift. She jumped in, hit the button for the sixth floor and then jumped out again. They all stared at her quizzically as the lift doors closed.

"What was that about?" Alex asked. Carmella smiled as she led them to the staircase.

"There's a dial above the lift on each floor telling them where the lift is going and where it's stopped. When they see it they'll think we're going to the sixth floor and might go up there to check." She explained as they started to climb the stairs up to the fourth floor.

I watched the dial above the elevator move up to the number six. Shit, someone else was in the building and it was probably Carmella. I wasn't the only one who saw it moving.

"You two go and see who that is. If it's the girl, bring her here. If it's anyone else then kill them" the man who was obviously in charge instructed. I bit my lip and silently hoped it was Carmella, just so no one innocent would die. The two men nodded and walked out. Ranger still wasn't moving. I whimpered quietly, drawing the unwanted attention of our captor.

"You mustn't take this personally; it's really nothing against you. This is about Mañoso." He growled. I wanted to know which one he meant, but I wasn't about to strike up a conversation with him.

Carmella walked out of her bedroom wearing jeans, a pair of Dr Martens and a black top. She had a shoulder holster on that held the Magnum she'd found in reception and another gun she kept by her bed. Her gun sat on her hip and her taser was in her back pocket. She looked at the three teenagers sat on the couch. She really didn't want to get any of them involved especially since they'd only just met. Maybe she could just sneak out without them noticing.

"Are we ready to go?" Harry asked suddenly. Carmella froze.

"Um…do you guys want to stay here and I'll go check out the situation." She suggested hopefully.  
"Nice try. Come on, let's go." Mandy smiled and walked towards the door with the two guys following her. Carmella sighed and walked out after them. They walked to the staircase and started making their way to the surveillance room, disabling cameras as they went.

I watched him walk into the surveillance room and then heard him curse loudly. He stormed out and kicked Ranger's limp form.

"Dammit, your daughter is too crafty for her own good. Sneaky bitch." He spat and kicked Ranger again.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted before I could stop myself. He snarled and stalked over to me.

"You stupid fat whore, keep your fucking mouth shut. This is nothing to do with you." He shouted, towering over me. I hunched up as small as I could. I resented the fat comment, I could hardly help it considering my condition but I was hardly going to voice that thought. His balaclava was still firmly in place but I was almost certain he wasn't from around here. The accent was slightly Hispanic. Maybe from Cuba or Spain or even Mexico. It was hard to tell, the balaclava muffled it. His eyes were the only parts of his face that were visible and they looked furious.

Carmella stopped on the last step and looked to her little gang.

"Ok, I don't know who the hell is in there and I don't know what they're capable. What I know is what I am capable of. If anyone gets hit by a bullet of any other object then hit the floor, even if you're not seriously injured. If they think that you're out of action then they probably won't give you another thought. Once you're down stay down. Look out for yourself above everyone else. It sounds selfish but it's the best way. If everyone covers themselves then we should be ok. I can't believe I'm actually saying all this stuff." She said. Harry smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll be ok. You just concentrate on getting your family out of there; I've got your back." He said softly. She nodded and thought about that for a second. 'Concentrate on getting your family out of there'. Was Steph her family? She was obviously very important to her dad and she was the closest thing Carmella had to a mother. In her books, that made her family. She looked at the three faces staring at her and nodded. She pulled her gun out and checked again that it had ammo in it. She hit the taser on and checked it was fully charged. Everything was set up and ready to go.

"Ok, everyone stay behind me, stay low and most importantly, stay alive." She pushed the door open gently and slipped into the room, squatting down to stay out of side. The others followed her in, crawling in the same style. As Alex, the last in, entered the room, Carmella suddenly remembered the door. As she turned to tell him to stop it closing, it slammed shut.

As he raised his hand to hit me again, a loud slamming noise filled the room. He turned and I saw the door settling back into place. Someone had just entered the room and it didn't take a genius to work out who.

"Is that you Miss Mañoso? Why don't you join us, there's room for one more." He said in a taunting voice. I closed my eyes and begged for Carmella's safety. I had no doubt that this guy would hurt her. He didn't seem to have a problem with hitting women.

Carmella turned and looked at her friends.

"Remember what I said. You also need to find somewhere else to hide in case anyone else comes through the door. You're an obvious target here." She whispered as quietly as possible. They nodded at her, all looking grim.

"Come out come out wherever you are." The voice sang, mocking her. This was not a good situation to be in. If she stood, she had no guarantee he wouldn't just shoot her straight away. Though it rarely happened in this kind of situation, it was still an option.

"Am I going have to come and find you?" The voice called. Shit. That wouldn't be good. If he came to find her, then he'd find the others as well. She really had no other option.

I saw Carmella stand up slowly from behind a desk and face the masked psycho. She stared at him, her face blank, except for the hatred that was burning in her eyes. He laughed softly.

"You really are beautiful Carmella, you've changed so much since the last time I saw you. You've become a beautiful young woman."  
"I have no idea who you are." Carmella hissed back, her eyes flicking onto me then back again. Her face remained free of emotion, Ranger would have been proud. I wasn't sure if she'd seen him yet.

"You do know me, but it's been a while since I saw you last. You must have been…9 I think. And no, I'm not your father. It's just a coincidence that I haven't seen you for six years either." He said, laughing softly.

"Don't you dare compare yourself to my father. You will never be even a quarter of the man he is. He'd never raise a hand to a woman for one thing." She hissed, her eyes taking in the bruises on my face.

"You really don't want to upset me again Carmella. This is just revenge for the first time; you don't want to make it worse." He replied with a voice full of anger.

"I don't know who you are or what you want revenge for, but Stephanie didn't do anything to you so let her go." Carmella said forcefully.

"You're not really in a position to negotiate terms here Carmella." He said, laughing again. Suddenly, Carmella was aiming a gun at his head.

"I think I am." She whispered darkly. Then he pulled out a gun and pointed it at my head.

"Do you really think that you can shoot me before I shoot her, or, even better" He lowered the gun so it was aimed for my stomach "Before I shoot her unborn child. Could you deal with that guilt Carmella? Having the death of a child on your hands. Would your father ever forgives you, that is, if he lives" He hissed "Put the gun down on the floor. All three of them, on the floor." Carmella didn't move for a few seconds and then slowly bent down behind the desk.

Carmella quickly handed the guns out, so each of her friends had one.

"They're easy to use. But don't use them if you don't have to. Now move out of sight." She instructed and stood up again.

I could almost sense him smiling when Carmella stood again.

"Now, come a bit closer dear. You look so lonely there, all on your own. But be careful not to step on your father's body." He warned. I think if Carmella had still had a gun in her hand, she'd have shot him in that second and I didn't blame her. But instead, she said nothing and just walked forwards slowly. She stopped by Ranger and looked down at him.

"What did you do to him?" She asked. For some reason, this made him laugh loudly.

"You Mañoso's, you're all the same. You try to act cool and uncaring but under the surface you're bubbling with Latino temperament." He laughed "But if you must know, we simply shot him with a hydro-shock bullet." He answered simply. Carmella looked furious. She ran at him and pounced before he had time to aim his gun at her. He fell backwards, letting out a yell of surprise; Carmella was on top of him, punching him in the face and torso and shrieking at him in Spanish. I noticed movement in the corner and looked up to see three teenagers hurrying across the room. A boy with black and red hair looked at me. We held eye contact for a few seconds and then he smiled slightly and winked. I smiled back and they disappeared from sight. Just then, the man lunged forwards so that Carmella was pinned to the floor and he was straddling her. He aimed his gun at her head and growled.

"That was a stupid thing to do Angel, really stupid." Carmella pulled an arm free and tore the balaclava off his head. He didn't make any effort to cover his face; he just smiled as though this situation was vaguely amusing. His skin was a shade lighter then Carmella's; a scar ran the whole length of his face and he looked to be in his late twenties. Carmella stared at him, with only the faintest glimmer of recognition.

"Do you still not know who I am Carmella?" He asked. She shook her head, but kept her eyes on his face.

"I'll refresh your memory. When you were nine years old, you went to the supermarket with your mother. As you were waiting to pay at the checkout, a man in front of you pulled out a gun and aimed it at the girl working on the till. He demanded that she filled a bag with all the money in the till. Then the security turned up. He shot one of them in the leg and tried to run for it, but the police arrived and arrested him. No one was willing to testify against him except a little nine year old who'd been shopping with her mother. Your testimony put me in jail Carmella. Because of you I've spent the last six years inside; because of you I have this fucking scar. But now I'm out and I want to get even." He hissed, leaning close to her.

"I don't understand how the scar is my fault." She whispered, fear creeping into her voice.

"In jail, some guy took a knife to me. Like I said, I'm here to repay the favour. Only I think it's fair that I add interest." He smiled and lowered his mouth onto Carmella's. She let out a muffled scream and pushed him away. He grinned.

"Sorry Angel, I couldn't resist."

"You should have tried harder." A voice growled. I looked up and saw Tank stood over us. He grabbed the guy by the back of his shirt, lifted him and threw him against the wall. He slid down the wall and landed motionless at the bottom.

"Are you two ok?" He asked, but before we could answer, a gunshot rang through the room.

"Fuck." Tank whispered, then dropped to his knees and collapsed on the floor. Carmella screamed and looked around. The other two men were back and one of them was lowering his gun. Their balaclavas were still firmly in place. Carmella scrambled to her feet. Her hand went for her back pocket and I noticed the taser. The guy without the balaclava was slowly climbing to his feet. He walked over to Carmella and pulled the taser out of her pocket.

"Tut tut Carmella, you should be careful carrying this kind of thing around, you might zap yourself." He said mock-concern in his voice.

"Call an ambulance." She whispered "Or at least let me, let me call an ambulance. Please, we'll take them downstairs and-"

"No way. Sorry Angel, it's not going to happen." He said softly. She turned and looked at him.

"What are you going to do? Are you just going to keep us all here for God knows how long? Do you even have a plan?" She asked. He grinned and pulled a knife out from a thigh holster. It was about 10 inches long, I had no idea how I hadn't noticed it. I guess I just wasn't concentrating on his legs. He closed the gap between him and Carmella and held the knife to her throat. She didn't show any emotion, just stared at him.

"So your plan is to kill me. Wow, that's some plan." She whispered.

"I'm not about to kill you. You're no use to me dead Angel. Like I said, I'm here to repay the favour. I have to live with this monstrosity on my face; I have to live with the memories of jail. You're going to suffer the same things, only worse." He hissed. She just kept staring. The blade was now resting on Carmella's cheek. Her expression hadn't changed at all.

"It won't change anything. You do this; I'll get you thrown back inside. It's as simple as that. When and if you get out again, I'll be in my twenties probably. You should come back then, so you're picking on an adult, not a teenager."  
"I have an alibi sweetheart. I wasn't the only one who had a problem with you. When I got out, I discovered you had a…hate club for lack of a better word. I was accepted right away. Turns out the Mañoso's are not a popular group." He hissed.

"No, it must be all that work we do, cleaning the streets of filth like you." Carmella replied, sounding bored. He laughed softly.

"You think very highly of your family don't you Carmella? What about Enrique Mañoso? He was pretty quick to abandon his family, well you and Ricardo, just for a bit of cash. He was easily bought. But this, this is the end of the Mañoso rule. You and your father first, then uncles, aunts, cousins, you will all be brought down a peg or two. Of course, after the untimely death of your father, your grandparents will be distraught, as will his brothers and sisters. Bit by bit, it will all fall apart. Then the daughter goes mad with grief, wondering why fate took away the one person she thought cared for her. Knowing that she could have stopped it. The little self confidence she has left will disappear and she'll start the downward spiral to suicide. That's you Carmella" He paused and smiled creepily.

"Yeah I got that." She muttered.

"The family crumbles. Soon, there's no more Mañoso rule anywhere. Not here, not in Miami and not in Cuba." He finished dramatically. There was a silence, then Carmella said;

"Right. In theory, it's a good plan. But if I could make a few alterations; I don't do 'mad with grief'. I do 'furious and on a revenge fuelled warpath'. If dad happened to die of mysterious circumstances then I would know exactly who to come after. You are also underestimating the strength of the family. Dad isn't the prized son. I mean that in the nicest possible way, but he was the rebel son. Still is in a way. I admit I haven't seen them for a good few years, but I know what they're like. They are strong and they still have respect and control. My aunts and uncles would kill you before you had time to take a final breath. And finally Cuba; no chance whatsoever of you making any impression at all there. And I mean no chance at all." There. Those are my comments; I hope they help in the grand scheme of things." She finished with a sweet smile. He snarled and lunged forwards. Carmella jumped to the side and the two masked goons moved forwards to assist their boss. At that moment, three goths jumped out from behind a desk.

"Carmella!" A white haired boy shouted and threw a gun to her. She grabbed it and in one swift movement had the safety off and was aiming it at the unmasked lunatic.

"You can kill me, but I'm not the only one who's going to bring you down Carmella. Like I say, there's more to come. The car exploding, almost being run down, the flowers and the intruder, it's all related. You'll see, you can't escape us. You'll die running." He hissed. Carmella said nothing, just kept her gun pointing at his head. He sighed and quickly pulled out a gun and aimed it at Ranger.

"I will kill him Carmella. Do you think you can shoot me before I shoot him. Or before one of them shoots you?" He asked, motioning to his goons. I wondered why everyone was ignoring the goths. I guess they weren't seen as a major threat. Then I realised that two of them had guns pointing at the goons' heads. How had that happened? Carmella lowered the gun slowly.

"That's good, now drop it on the floor and kick it away." He commanded. Carmella did it instantly and he grabbed her gun.

"Now, get on the floor on your knees, with your hands on your head." He commanded. She did, slowly, muttering some Spanish obscenities under her breath. He turned to me.

"You, do the same. I don't want to have to hurt you again but I will." He said without a trace of remorse. I whimpered and got onto my knees, hands on my head. This was starting to get slightly scary. Carmella looked over at me and whispered 'I'm sorry Steph'. I smiled and nodded. She had nothing to be sorry for, I knew that but I didn't want to draw any extra attention to us by telling her. Just then, the two goons collapsed onto the floor. I looked and saw that the goths all had stun guns. That was very organized of them. The man in charge glanced over, then grabbed Carmella by the hair and pulled her roughly to her feet. She let out a yelp of pain and scrambled to try and find her footing. Unfortunately, she was hovering about an inch from the floor. That guy was strong. Or Carmella was extraordinarily light. He shook her slightly and I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Tell them to drop the weapons or I swear, someone will get shot and I assure you, it'll be some one that you'll miss." He spat at her. She winced.

"Guys, drop the weapons please. Just put them on the floor and kick them away. Don't make any attempts to recover them. Can they go? This is nothing to do with them." She pleaded with him.

"No. Everyone in this room stays here until we go. That's just the way it is Angel." He replied shortly. Carmella winced as he shook her again. She looked a bit like a puppet.

"So just hurry up. Just do whatever it is you're going to do and leave because I am getting so damn bored with all this." She shouted. He snarled and threw her across the room. She slammed against the wall, letting out a whimper.

"Leave her alone you bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you? Just leave us all alone!" I found myself shrieking. He stalked over to me and without warning; he kicked me sharply in the stomach. Pain hit me and I doubled over with tears rolling down my face. Carmella was staggering, trying to stand.

"You fucking prick. You fucking heartless bastard. She's fucking pregnant!" She shrieked with the tears that had tried so hard not to fall now rolling down her face. She walked up to him and punched him in the mouth, hard. He staggered backwards, obviously shocked and dazed. She hit him in the stomach, she kicked him in the shins and she scratched his face. Then he grabbed her, and wrapped an arm around her throat. His knife was back at her face.

"That was very unwise. Really stupid." He hissed. He started to bring the knife down, when another gunshot was fired. He stopped and stumbled backwards, dropping the knife. I looked up and saw the boy with the black and red hair holding the gun up, pointing it in his direction. The two goons started to clamber to their feet again. The Goth turned the gun to them.

"Take him and get out. I mean that. Get out or I will shoot you both. Don't even touch the girl in reception, just leave." He commanded. They staggered to their boss and helped him up to his feet.

"Come on Kellin, let's go." One of the goons said to him. They stormed out of the office, with Kellin clutching the wound on his shoulder.

"This isn't over." He hissed and disappeared out of the door. Carmella started sobbing uncontrollably, while the other girl pulled out a cell phone.

"Estella; it's Mandy. Get out of sight. Three guys are coming down and you do not want to get in their way. I'll see you later." She hung up and hugged the white-haired guy next to her. The other boy walked over Carmella and wrapped his arms around her. She leant against him and sobbed quietly. Then she quickly pulled her head up and grabbed a phone off a near by desk. She tapped in the number and held it to her ear, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hi I need an ambulance…Three, two gun shot wounds and a pregnant woman…ok, get here soon." She told them the address and hung up the phone. Neither Tank nor Ranger appeared to be moving.

"Stephie, you need to stand up. We need to get you, dad and Tank downstairs. Take my hand." She said softly. I looked up and grasped her outstretched hand. Mandy was by the lift, keeping the doors open while the two boys were trying to carry Ranger into the elevator. I didn't know how they were going to move Tank. I stepped into the lift and Carmella went to help move Ranger and Tank.

The ambulance arrived in about five minutes and we met another Goth girl in the lobby.

"Stephie this is Estella. The other girl is Mandy, the white haired boy is Alex and the boy with red and black hair is Harry." Carmella explained to me. I nodded shortly, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in my stomach. A small fleet of paramedics rushed in, pushing stretchers and carrying tanks of oxygen. They loaded Ranger and Tank onto a stretcher and pushed them out. Carmella jumped into the ambulance with Ranger, after checking with me that I didn't want her company. The goths assured her that they'd meet her at the hospital. I was loaded into the third ambulance and was being assured that everything was going to be ok. I only wish that I could believe them. Though I wanted to stay optimistic, but I could feel the lives inside me fading away.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter. Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	19. Oh yeah, very mature

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Very very very sorry it took so long to update this one, soooo much coursework and such. Ok, hope this chapter is up to scratch and I will try to update as soon as I can!

Carmella looked at her father's inanimate form. She didn't know what had happened. The bullet wound was in his arm, the same arm that had just recovered form the hit and run. But it was only a bullet wound. He should have regained consciousness. He shouldn't be unconscious to start with. They must have stunned him. It was the only option. The paramedics were bustling round and Carmella could tell she was in the way. She didn't really understand why they let people come in the ambulances, it just took up space.

"Are you sure you don't know what happened to him?" One of the paramedics asked her. She looked up, snapping out of her trance.

"Um…no. He was like this when I found him. He was shot with a…a hydro-shock bullet. That's it." She replied. The paramedic sighed and muttered something inaudible. Probably wondering why she couldn't have a relation who actually knew something about the victim's condition. Carmella sighed and looked down at her father. He looked…helpless. She didn't know he could look helpless. It was a state she'd never seen him in before and it was worrying. She wanted him to be ok. He had to be ok. If he wasn't ok, then she'd have to go back to her mother and James. She had no intention of doing that. She'd swim the pacific before she went back to Miami with them. Of course it wouldn't be an issue; she'd be in military school or brat camp the second that her mother re-gained custody. Either that or she'd be in ER as a result of James' actions. Neither thought was comforting.

"Carmella…" Her dad suddenly whispered. She leant forwards and grasped his hand.

"I'm here Papa; you're going to be ok." She assured him, almost crying with relief.

"Are you ok? They shot me…stunned me…I couldn't…"  
"I know, it's ok. None of this was your fault." She said, knowing that he'd blame himself if anyone got hurt.

"Stephanie…the triplets…are they ok?" He asked weakly

"Triplets? What are you talking about?" Carmella asked, totally confused.

"She's expecting triplets, that's why we called you sweetie. But then…"

"I know, I'll explain it when you're better. Steph's in the ambulance behind us. She'll be fine. Don't strain yourself, just relax." She said comfortingly.

"Listen to your daughter Mr Mañoso, just try and relax. You'll be fine, you're in good hands." The paramedic said, obviously relieved that she finally knew what had happened to her patient. The ambulance stopped outside the hospital and Ranger was wheeled out.

"Carmella, wait for Steph, she needs you." He told his daughter as he was pushed into the hospital. Carmella nodded and stood in the empty lobby, waiting for Steph.

I felt hot tears sliding down my face as the pain doubled. I whimpered quietly and tried to massage it away.

"Please stay still Ms Plum, everything will be ok." One of the paramedic said in a slightly annoyed voice. The ambulance stopped and I was carried out and set on another stretcher and pushed into the building. I saw Carmella stood by the reception desk looking immensely worried. She looked up, saw me and rushed over.

"Are you ok? Stupid question. Dad told me to wait for you, I'll come with you. He told me about the triplets. It's all going to be ok Steph, it'll be alright." She tried to assure me. Somehow I didn't think it'd be ok. With me, it was rarely if ever ok. We were taken into the lift and up to the third floor where I was rushed into a ward. The doctor I'd seen earlier was waiting.

"Hello Stephanie, I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon. Now can you tell me exactly what happened?" She said softly. I told her about the whole experience, well using selective memory and leaving out the parts where people had been shot and thrown across the room. She nodded and looked to Carmella.

"Can you wait outside? I need to run some tests on Ms Plum. They should be done in about half an hour." She asked. Carmella nodded and looked at me.

"I need to go check on Dad and Tank; I'll come back soon though." She assured me. I nodded and looked to the floor as I was wheeled into the room where I had my scans done earlier.

Carmella stepped out of the lift and walked straight into the ward where she'd been told her father and Tank had been assigned to. Tank was lying in the nearest bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Tank, are you ok?" She asked, throwing her arms around him.

"I'm fine Princess, just glad that you're ok." He replied, wrapping one arm around her.

"So are you ok? What did they do?" She asked.

"The bullet was in shallow so it was easy to remove. I have to stay in over night for observation but I should be good to go tomorrow." He said softly. Carmella nodded and pulled away from his grasp.

"How's dad? Is he ok?" She asked

"I don't know. He's in surgery, the bullet was in quite deep and it shattered part of the bone in his arm. He should be ok, he's a fighter." Tank said, trying to comfort the panicked teenager. She nodded and bit her lip. Tank studied her face. A shadow of concern was cast across it. This was more worry then teenager should be given. He looked at her dark eyes, so much like her father's. They had they same knowledgeable look, the same look that suggested they'd seen too much, they'd witnessed things that no one should ever have to witness; they'd been through so much. And yet here she was, she was still standing. She was still alive. Against the odds, her and Ranger were both still alive.

Her expression was not comforting. I knew something was wrong. She sighed and sat opposite me.

"Ms Plum, I'm afraid that…that you've lost one of the babies. The other two are fine; it would seem that the third baby was protecting the other two. I'm so sorry." She said sympathetically. I nodded and struggled to hold back tears. I had lost one of the babies. I still had two babies. I didn't want to sound heartless but it was better then loosing all three. I was going to have twins. I would be ok.

"We're going to keep you in for a couple of days. When you next go to the toilet, there will be blood. You mustn't be alarmed, it is normal." She assured me and showed me to a bed. I lay down and looked up at the ceiling. This was one of the worst days ever. The ward door opened and Carmella walked in. She looked over to me and ran over.

"Stephie, are you ok?" She asked, panic obvious in her voice. I nodded.

"I'm fine, but…I lost one of the babies." I whispered. She threw her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry; I'll understand if you hate me, this is my entire fault." She sobbed. I shook my head.

"None of this is your fault Carmella, you didn't ask for any of this. It's no ones fault but that creepy guy who took us hostage. It's his fault, not ours. I still have two other babies, alive and kicking and loosing a child this early in the pregnancy is quite common. It's all going to be ok." I told her. She nodded and stood up.

"I'm still sorry." She whispered. Her eyes filled with tears and she ran out the ward. I called after her but she just ran out of the ward, the door swinging shut behind her.

Carmella collapsed against the walls; hand in her heads sobbing quietly. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms locked around her, holding her safe. She looked up and saw Harry crouched next to her.

"It's all my fault." She sobbed.

"None of this is your fault. You're Princess Caramel and you can do no wrong." He said softly. Carmella laughed softly but kept her head down. He tipped her chin back and looked at her.

"It will be ok, things always work out. And you still have us."

"But you guys have only known me for, like, a day. You can't really-" She tried to explain but he put a finger to her mouth to silence her.

"Trust me Princess, I know enough." He slowly drew his hand a way and leaned in. Just as their lips were about to touch, there was a shout of.

"Carmella! Thank God you're ok!" A voice shouted. She pulled back quickly and looked up. Lester, Bobby and Junior were walking down the corridor, looking very intimidating. Harry shrunk back slightly so he was less noticeable.

"Hi guys, good to see you. I'll catch up with you, please just go on without me." Carmella said hopefully. Lester grinned and pulled her to her feet.

"We've been to see Tank and he told us to take you home and make sure you're ok. So that is what we're going to do. Say goodbye to your friend." He instructed. Carmella sighed.

"Lester…" She whined. He grinned, stepped forwards and threw Carmella over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. She shrieked and started pounding on his back. Lester just laughed and started to walk down the corridor. Carmella sighed and waved goodbye to Harry, who looked like he was trying not to laugh.

The drive home was uneventful and boring. Lester drove, while Junior and Bobby sat either side of Carmella in the back, as if they thought she was going to try and escape. They rolled into the underground car park and climbed out. Carmella stretched and looked at her watch. It was only 3.30. That was weird, it seemed like it should be closer to midnight. She sighed and walked into the elevator, hitting the button for the fourth floor. Junior jumped in just as the doors were closing. Carmella looked at him suspiciously.

"Scared I'll try and pop one of the roof panels of the elevator open and escaped?" She asked. Junior just smiled but said nothing. The elevator stopped and They stepped out and walked down the landing to her apartment. She stopped outside the door and she turned to Junior.

"Um, would you mind coming in for a bit. I just don't really want to be alone." She said, feeling her face burn up red. Junior smiled and nodded.

"Sure Princess." He answered. Carmella smiled and unlocked the door. They walked in and Junior sat on the couch while Carmella went to get drinks. She studied him from the kitchen. He was quite good looking really. Tall, well defined muscles, dark hair that fell to his shoulders, curling slightly. She shook her head and pulled the fridge door open, trying to find a drink that wouldn't make her appear to have the mental age of a four year old. Juice? No. Water? Too boring. Milk? Oh yeah, very mature. Then her eyes set on a few bottles of dark amber liquid on the bottom. She grinned and pulled out two bottles.

"Beer?" She offered. Junior grinned.

"Don't you think that's a bit…old?" he replied.

"Hey, if you can't handle your drink then-"

"Give me the bottle." Carmella smiled, flipped the lids off the bottles and walked back into the lounge. She handed him the bottle and sat down next him. He picked up the remote control and turned the television on. 'The Simpsons' came on. They watched TV for the next hour or so. After coming to the conclusion that there was nothing interesting or enlightening on, they switched it off and sat in silence.

"Thanks for staying with me." Carmella said after about half a minute of trying to think up conversation. Junior smiled and kissed her lightly on the top of the head.

"It's no problem Princess. I know what it's like to be lonely." He whispered. She looked up at him. The lighting of the room cast a shadow over his face, making his eyes look dark and mysterious. She blinked away the tears that were filling in her eyes. She couldn't believe everything that had happened today. She leaned closer to him, but he pulled away sharply. He set the empty beer bottle on the coffee table and stood up.

"Um…I should go, I'll see you later." He said and walked out. Carmella sighed and stood up. She walked into the bathroom and took a long shower. She sighed as the water flowed over her. She was stupid some times. Why did she do that? She had almost kissed two guys in a few hours. That was quite impressive even by her standards. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower cubicle. Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her. Her wet hair cascaded down her back, stopping halfway down her back. She pulled a large towel from the rack by the bath and wrapped it around herself. After brushing her dripping hair, Carmella walked out the bathroom and back into the lounge. She jumped when she noticed Junior stood there, lounging against the door frame and smiling. When she walked in, he walked straight up to her and wrapped his arms around her, lowering his mouth to hers. She draped her arms around his neck and smiled to herself. He ran a hand through her hair affectionately. Just then the door opened and Lester walked in, closely followed by Bobby. Carmella and Junior jumped apart, Carmella clutching her towel and turning red with embarrassment.

"Junior, you're needed in-what the hell is going on here!" Lester exclaimed.

"Les, I think that's a bit obvious." Bobby muttered without smiling. Carmella bit her lip. Junior cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.

"Um…well we…it was an accident?" He said sheepishly.

"Yeah, total accident. Please don't tell my dad." Carmella agreed quickly. Lester and Bobby simply stared.

"Junior come on, now." Bobby commanded and pulled him out of the apartment, with Lester following. Carmella shut the door behind them, went into her bedroom and screamed into her pillow.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter. Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	20. She's grown up so fast

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

I had been in hospital for three days now and I was so unbelievably bored. Ranger had visited me a couple of times, but Carmella hadn't been in since the whole shooting incident. The two babies were doing fine and were totally healthy. My parents had been in to see how I was. I hadn't told them about the third baby. They didn't need to know, all they had to know was that they were going to have two more grandchildren in a few months. Of course I got the whole "being a bounty hunter is not a suitable line of work" speech from my mother, even when I tried to explain that this time it had nothing to do with me. So I was still here, bored out of my head and praying to go home. Then the ward door swung open and Morelli walked in. I stared at him in shock. He looked good but I had no idea what he was doing here. He walked right up to me and sat next to my bed.

"Joe what are you doing here?" I asked. He sighed and grasped my hand.

"Steph please come home with me. I'm sorry I said what I did. I truly am sorry. But the baby will need a stable home, and-"

"Babies" I corrected him

"Excuse me?"

"Babies, plural. It's…twins." I said. I don't know why, but it didn't seem right to tell him about the third child. I felt bad about hiding it, as though it was some kind of dirty secret, but at the same time it didn't seem right to tell him or anyone else. I know I should as he is the father but I like having something that's just between me and Ranger.

"Woah, twins. Well, that's even more of a reason for you to move back in. Just…think about it."

"No"

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean no, I don't need to think about it." I told him. He smiled.

"Oh Steph I knew you'd see sense, we'll do the guest room up as a nursery and-"

"No Joe, I think you misunderstood. I mean no, I'm not going to move back in. I'm sorry but I just don't think it would be the right thing to do. Sorry." I said. It was the truth, something didn't feel right. Joe didn't say anything but his eyes told me he was furious. He just got up and walked out, slamming the door behind him. I sighed and waited for the tears to come. But they didn't.

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Tank picked up the ringing phone in the newly renovated office.

"Hello, RangeMan Security LTD." He said professionally.

"Hello I'm calling from the magistrates' court about the Mañoso custody trial." An annoying nasal voice told him.

"Of course, Mr Mañoso isn't here right now but I can take a message."

"Ok, could you tell him that the next hearing will be tomorrow at 11 am?"  
"Tomorrow? Isn't that a bit short notice?"

"We have been trying to reach you for the past three days without any luck." The voice said in an annoyed tone.

"Ah yes, the phone lines have been down for the past few days. I will tell Mr Mañoso when he gets in. Goodbye." Tank hung up quickly before that voice drove him insane. He sighed and walked out the office and into the control room. Bobby, Lester and Junior were sat in silence. This was normal if Ranger was present, but usually the three guys were being rowdy, playing cards and using the monitor from the outside surveillance camera to admire the legs of passing women.

"Alright, what's up? You guys have been sending each other death glares for the past few days." He asked, settling next to Lester. There was a silence before Lester shrugged.

"Nothing."

"Yeah that's right, nothing." Junior agreed.

"No one asked you to talk paedo." Bobby snarled.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tank demanded. Lester sighed.

"Junior kissed Carmella, as in seriously kissed her. Bobby and I walked in on them. Oh and Carmella was only wearing a towel." Now Tank was angry. He saw Carmella as family. Maybe not a daughter, no daughter of his would ever cuss or answer back as much as Carmella did, but definitely a niece or a favourite cousin and he was sure that Bobby and Lester felt similar about her. She was a great girl and they all saw Ranger as a brother. That made Carmella their niece. Tank turned to Junior.

"You did what? You stupid shit! Ranger is going to kill you. She's three years younger then you! You're a dead man!" He shouted. Junior cowered.

"Guys please don't tell Ranger, I don't know why I did it, it was an accident!"

"Yeah, I guess you just fell on her lips." Bobby hissed.

"That's not what I meant, please don't tell Ranger."

"And just why the hell shouldn't we?" Tank shouted.

"Hey!" shouted and extremely angry voice from the doorway. They all turned to see Carmella stood in the doorway; arms crossed looking extremely pissed off. Her hair looked darker and fell in curls down her back. She was wearing a black corset top with a black mini skirt and Doc Marten boots. There was a boy with black and red hair and a girl with short black hair stood behind her.

"Harry, Mandy and I are trying to work on an assignment here and we can hear you guys yelling from my apartment. Now I know damn well what you are yelling about and quite frankly it is none of your business. Dad and Steph will be home in an hour and they do not need to come home to this. Now it is Friday, the weekend starts now so just chill out or I will shoot all four of you." She hissed.

"Sorry Princess, I didn't know you were back from school already." Tank apologized. Carmella glared at them again the whirled around on her heel and flounced off to the elevator with the two goths following her. Then Tank remembered the court date and jumped up.

"Carmella, you have your second hearing tomorrow at 11. Is that ok?" He asked. It had better be, she really didn't have a choice about it. She nodded.

"Yeah cool. You just make sure that you keep that red headed psycho away from me." She said as the elevator doors closed.

Harry and Mandy looked at her.

"Red headed psycho?" Mandy asked.

"My ex, James. He is a complete loony. I mean like, multiple screws loose. A whole set of sandwiches, a rug and a hamper short of a picnic kind of crazy." Carmella explained. They nodded wisely. The elevator stopped and they walked out and down the corridor to Carmella's apartment. As they walked, they noticed new surveillance cameras were in place.

"New security equipment." Mandy noted. "What did they say about all the cameras we destroyed?"

"The electrician said it was a professional thing to do. Then he charged a small fortune to replace everything and add more cameras." Carmella smiled. She opened the apartment door and they went back to doing their homework.

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The black SUV rolled into the garage and stopped. Hal jumped out the front and opened the door for me, while Ranger climbed out, trying to balance without the use of his left arm. He wrapped his working arm around my shoulders and led me to the lift. Hal climbed in as well, but got out at the first floor. We stayed on right up to the seventh floor in silence.

Ranger's apartment hadn't changed at all, but then I hadn't expected it to. He walked straight in and hit the intercom. Tank's voice answered.

"Look Carmella, we don't have any damn ice cream!" He sounded slightly irritated.

"Tank it's me."

"Oh. Hey Ranger, how are you feeling?"

"I'm ok, are there any messages?"

"None that can't wait, only the next custody hearing is tomorrow. You're going to need to do a good job of covering up that bullet wound." Tank said warningly.

"Shit yeah, this is not going to go down well." Ranger muttered.

"Thank you captain obvious." Tank mumbled. Ranger let his finger off the button, and then hit the intercom for the fourth floor.

"Tank, have you got my damn ice cream yet?" Carmella's voice answered.

"Sweetheart it's me. How are you?" He asked.

"Oh, hey papa. I'm ok, just doing homework. You know about the hearing tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah I do, coming for tea with Steph and me in an hour? I thought we'd go to Shorty's."

"Sounds good, can Harry and Mandy come along."

"Sure thing sweetie, see you in the lobby in an hour then." Ranger turned to me and grinned.

"One hour, what can we do in one hour?" I asked flirtingly.

"Oh I can think of a few things." He answered and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwww! You guys are gross! If you're going to do that kind of thing, can you at least keep it private; we don't want to hear that kind of talk!" Carmella's voice shrieked from the intercom.

"Oops" Ranger muttered.

"Yeah, oops indeed. Now turn off the damn intercom. And tell Tank to get me some ice cream." Carmella commanded. Ranger rolled his eyes and switched off the intercom. He turned back to me.

"Now, where were we?"

One hour and five minutes later, we rushed into the lobby. Carmella and two of her Goth friends were stood by the reception desk waiting. She raised an eyebrow at us when we ran in.

"No need to ask why you two are late. Come on, let's go." She said commandingly. We grinned and followed the three teenagers into the garage.

"Carmella, Shorty's is within walking distance from here. Why are we in the garage?" Ranger asked. Carmella grinned and unlocked one of the SUV's.

"Because I'm going to drive. I need the practice." She said and climbed into the driver's seat. The two goths grinned and clambered into the back. Ranger sat in the front by Carmella, leaving me in the back with the two teenagers. The girl smiled at me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked kindly. I smiled back.

"I'm ok, a bit bruised but generally ok" I replied. She nodded and glanced at my stomach.

"Um, how are…" She trailed off.

"They're ok, totally healthy." I told her. She nodded and we sank back into silence.

Shorty's was quite full when we got there, but we had no problem getting a table. Everyone gave the waitress their orders and then sat in silence. As we were sat, I couldn't help but notice Harry and Carmella kept winking and pouting at each other. Mandy rolled her eyes and drank some coke, trying to ignore their obvious flirting. Miraculously Ranger didn't seem to have noticed. The door opened and a bunch of the merry men walked in. To be more specific Lester, Bobby, Tank and Junior walked in. Ranger gave them a nod of acknowledgement, which they each returned.

"Hey guys!" I beamed "Why don't you come join us?" I smiled. Junior glanced at Carmella, who looked down at the table, turning red. Tank and Bobby glared at Junior. Lester looked highly amused.

"No it's ok Steph; we're just here for a quick drink." Lester grinned. The guys all nodded and mooched off to the bar. After our starters arrived, we were eating quite happily when there was a shout of…

"My goodness, is that little Carmella? Sweet crap darling I haven't seen you since…well since you mom became a whore and took you to Miami!" A voice called out. We all turned and saw a tall heavily built man with a buzz cut wearing an apron stood at the door of the kitchen. Carmella grinned widely.

"Shorty! How have you been dude? It's been too long!" She stood and walked over to the man. He pulled her into a bear hug. Ranger grinned up at them. Shorty let go of Carmella and walked her back to the table. Him and Ranger did one of those crazy handshakes that I would never get the hang of.

"Hey Ric, long time no see."

"Yeah, you know how it is."

"Damn right I do, that's why I got out of that business."

"Yeah, well you know if you ever want to come back there's always a place for you at RangeMan." Ranger grinned. Shorty laughed.

"Yeah I know, but this is my calling. Pizza is my life." He grinned "I better get back to the kitchen or I'll be missed. It's great to see you again 'Mella, you need to call in more often."

"You bet Shorty, I'll see you soon." She grinned and the man walked back into the kitchen. After that, we went back to small talk and Carmella went back to flirting with Harry. When the pizzas came, Ranger turned to me.

"Are you going to come to court tomorrow?" He asked. I nodded.

"Of course I will. I take it Tank's coming."

"Yeah and Bobby. I don't want to take any chances this time."

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Carmella yawned and stretched in her bed. She glanced at her bedside clock. 10.15. Shit. She jumped out of bed and quickly whipped off her pyjamas. She grabbed her underwear and put it on, pausing only to on some deodorant. She leaned over to grab her clothes, when her bedroom door opened and Junior walked in. She shrieked and jumped up, spinning to face him. Then she remembered she was only wearing her black bra and knickers.

"Um…hi, Ranger…you're dad wanted me to check you were awake, so…" He stuttered, obviously trying not to look at her chest.

"Yeah I'm awake. Well I guess you can see that." Carmella smiled nervously. They stood, wrapped in an awkward silence. Then they practically ran at each other and locked their mouths together. Carmella wrapped her arms around his neck. He nuzzled his face into her neck gently.

"Are you coming to court today?" Carmella gasped. She felt Junior shake his head before they brought their lips together again. Junior pulled her legs around his waist and ran his hand up and down her bare back. Then the bedroom door opened and Ranger and Steph walked in.

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I froze in shock and felt Ranger do the same. Carmella quickly unwrapped her arms from around Junior's waist and pulled her arms from his neck. Then she grabbed her dressing gown and pulled it on.

"Don't you know how to knock?" She muttered and raked a hand through her hair. I looked up at Ranger's face. He looked furious. Junior was taking cautious steps backwards.

"Ranger I'm sorry, I really am. I know how this must look but-" At that point, the door opened and Bobby and Tank walked in. They took one look at the situation, then Bobby shouted.

"You fucking kissed her again? What the hell is wrong with you?" Ranger's face darkened with anger.

"Again? What the fuck do you mean 'again'? Has this happened before? Why did no one tell me?" He shouted. Junior and Carmella were now both taking steps backwards. Ranger stormed into the room and grabbed Junior by the front of the shirt. He hauled him out of the bedroom and threw him across the lounge. Carmella ran out after them and tried to pull Ranger back.

"Dad leave him alone, it wasn't him." She shouted. Junior was on his back and scrambling to regain his footing. Ranger was advancing again, not even noticing that Carmella was hanging off his arm. She finally let go and ran in front of him, putting herself between him and Junior.

"Get out the way Carmella." Ranger snarled. She shook her head.

"No way. This is as much my fault as it is Junior's. Actually it's more my fault. I'm the one that started all this. I kissed him first, so if you're going to have a pop at anyone then make it me. I'm so sorry Dad. It was a mistake, I swear. I mean yeah, Junior is a great guy and he's very hot but I'm not really attracted to him. Not really. No offence Junior." She added.

"None taken."

"I was just acting on pent up teenage hormones I guess. It wasn't anything personal and I wasn't trying to rebel against you. I'm sorry." She said sincerely. Ranger stared at her then sighed.

"Go and get dressed. And you" He said to Junior "You better get out of my sight and stay out of my way for the next few days." Junior nodded and ran out of the room. Carmella sighed and stomped into her room to get dressed, slamming the door behind her.

When she emerged she was wearing her gypsy skirt, a black shirt and her black blazer. She grabbed a pair of black leather boots from beside the door and pulled them on. Ranger examined her outfit.

"What happened to your suit?" He asked. She stared at him.

"It got torn up by a crazed rapist, remember?" She said. Ranger sighed and nodded. Then he opened the front door and ushered us all out. We walked into the elevator and went down to the garage. Tank led us to a parked SUV and unlocked it. Ranger got in the passenger seat, while me, Carmella and Bobby climbed in the back. We rolled out of the garage and drove to the court in silence. Carmella was sending death glares to everyone in the car except me, which I was thankful for; I didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of Carmella's death glares. We pulled up outside the court and all climbed out of the car. Carmella was still silent and sending death glares to everyone in sight. We walked into the huge entrance hall. Eddie was waiting for us. His smile faltered when he saw then look on Carmella's face.

"Oh no, what's happened now?" He asked. She sighed and smiled.

"Nothing, are we ready to go?" She asked. He nodded.

"The trial will start in about five minutes. You guys are quite late." He said. We walked up to the room we'd been in last time. Eddie opened the door for us and ushered us all into the room. We sat in the same order we'd been in last time, with Bobby on the end next to Tank. Mrs Phillips was already in the room. She looked at us as we walked in, her eyes fixing on Bobby.

"You have another person with you? I must say Miss Mañoso; you travel with quite an entourage." She smiled. Carmella grinned and took her seat next to Ranger. The door banged open and Eva walked in, followed by James and Enrique. They assumed the same seats they'd sat in at the last hearing. James glared at Carmella, who simply raised an eyebrow at him, looking uncaring. Mrs Phillips sat down and cleared her throat.

"Ok, if we could continue with the hearing. Miss Mañoso has not changed her opinion as regards who she wishes to stay with and Mrs Bernards is still wishing to keep custody. Now, before we start would anyone like to change their minds and make this a lot easier?" She asked. Everyone shook their heads. Mrs Phillips nodded and continued.

"I am assuming that everyone hear is fine with everyone else being here?" She asked. There was a mutter that ran through the room, then everyone nodded. Mrs Phillips nodded and shuffled her papers.

"Right, I have been looking in detail at Miss Mañoso's hospital records from Miami and I must say they are rather baffling. The explanations for the injuries don't add up with the injuries themselves. I wonder if someone could explain this." She said, glancing from Eva, to Carmella. Carmella cleared her throat.

"I did explain this at the last hearing. The injuries I obtained were not caused by falling downstairs or anything like that. They were inflicted by Mr Bernards. However, I feared for my safety as if I explained the real cause of the injuries then there would have been inquiries which could have led to myself or my mother being harmed." She explained. Mrs Phillips nodded. Eva looked down at the table with tears in her eyes. Then she looked up at Carmella.

"You're a liar. James would never lay a finger on either of us and you know it. You're not right in the head. But we can help you if you come back to us. Your father will just keep encouraging these sick fantasies. We can be a family. I'm pregnant Carmella. You're going to have a little brother or sister. We can be a normal family." She whispered. I felt sorry for her for a second, then I remembered what she had put Carmella and Ranger through.

"Not with him we can't." Carmella spat, glaring at James.

"Listen to me you fucking whore, you are coming back with you mother and me, one way or another. She's the one that raised you, you ungrateful little bitch and…" James trailed off and looked around at everyone else in the room, then laughed nervously.

"Um…just kidding." He muttered. Mrs Phillips looked appalled.

"Custody goes to Mr Mañoso without a doubt. Mr Bernards you need serious psychiatric assistance. Miss Mañoso, you should consider pressing charges." She said sternly. Ranger grinned and Carmella burst out laughing. Then she turned to James and smiled.

"You really buggered it up there, didn't you?" She grinned. He snarled and launched himself across the table, his hands closing around Carmella's neck. She stumbled backwards and chocked. Ranger leapt forwards and pulled him off her. He punched him in the nose and the sound of his nose breaking filled the room. I winced involuntarily. Tank turned to Eva.

"Did you see that? You see what you're living with, the danger you're putting yourself in. For God's sake Eva he's insane! He just attacked a 15 year old girl. He tried to rape her again last week after the court hearing. Steph had to drag him off her. She's your daughter. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. She looked away.

"She's not my daughter." Eva muttered coldly and stormed out the room, pulling her cell phone out of her bag as she went. James sent us a last glare, then followed her. Ranger wrapped his arms around Carmella and kissed her on the forehead.

"Are you ok sweetheart?" He asked softly. She nodded.

"She wasn't really my mother. She changed so much…I don't know her anymore. But that's fine, because I have a new family now." She whispered. I felt tears in my eyes and before I could stop myself I was sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone in the room turned to look at me. Carmella had an eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked. I sniffed and sobbed some more.

"I…I don't know. It's just…" I managed to choke out before a whole new wave of tears took me over. Carmella rolled her eyes and looked at the three nervous men who obviously didn't know how to react around a crying woman.

"It's just her hormones guys, don't panic. Not that you were, but still." She instructed. Mrs Phillips handed me a tissue. I smiled in appreciation and wiped my tears away, then blew my nose. Ranger wrapped one arm around my waist and threw the other around Carmella's shoulders. Then Carmella grasped Tank's hand and Bobby linked his arm with mine.

"How sad does this look?" Carmella giggled.

"Yeah, and how exactly are we going to fit through the door?" Bobby laughed. We managed to get through the door sideways and made it down the staircase.

"So Bomber, how are you feeling?" Bobby asked. I smiled.

"I'm ok, just a bit…emotional." I replied. We were walking across the entrance hall when there was a squeal from behind us.

"Oh my God, there she is!" A girl's voice proclaimed. Carmella broke contact with Ranger and Tank and turned around. At that point, we all turned to see who it was. I smiled to myself, knowing damn well how the people were. There was a teenage boy with messy brown hair and a very thin teenage girl, who was black with long curly hair. Carmella shrieked and ran towards them. They grinned and the boy caught her and whirled her around before setting her down and watching the two girls embrace. Then Carmella pulled him into the hug.

"What are you guys doing here? I have missed you so much!" Carmella said, finally pulling away from them. The boy grinned.

"Well, after we spoke to you last weekend, we got a phone call from a lady called Stephanie asking us to come up this weekend. She told us where you lived and said we could stay for the weekend. Then we turned up at your flat you weren't there but this guy called Lester said he'd bring us here and so here we are." Carmella turned and smiled at me.

"You organized this? Oh thank you so much Stephie!" She ran and hugged me. Her two friends walked up to us and stood by Carmella. She turned back to them.

"Ok you two, this is my dad!" She grinned. The two teenagers grinned.

"Hello Mr Mañoso! My name's Freya and this is Oli." The girl smiled. Ranger shook their hands and nodded.

"So, are these your bodyguards then?" Oli grinned. Carmella laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, this is Tank and this is Bobby. They're friends and employees of my dad. And me. Only they're more just man servants to me." She grinned. Bobby swatted at her. She laughed. Ranger shook his head and looked resigned.

"Why don't we go out for tea tonight? You could invite your goth-your friends." He finished. Carmella looked at her friends.

"Do you want to? If you don't want me to invite the others then that's cool, it can just be-"

"Mel, chill! I'd love to meet your new friends. It's cool." Freya answered. Carmella nodded and looked to Ranger.

"How many can I invite? Because there's Mandy and Harry, you met them yesterday, Estella, Cassandra-"

"Sweetheart you can invite them all. I'll book a table for fifteen." Ranger said. Carmella grinned and turned back to her two friends.

"Ok, shall we go? You said Les brought you guys here, right? Well, we'll go back with him and we'll seem you guys back at the ranch." She smiled at us and the three teenagers ran out the hall.

"Well, when will you be back?" Ranger called after them.

"I don't know. Before six. Book a table for seven." Carmella called back before she disappeared. He sighed and looked at me.

"She's grown up so fast." He said, faking a sob. I laughed. Tank and Bobby grinned.

"Dude, that's because you missed six years of her life." Tank pointed out. Ranger nodded sadly. I smiled and hugged him.

"You're more than making up for it now. " I pointed out. He smiled and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. Then he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me passionately. I almost collapsed in his arms.

"Hey dad, can I have some cash- woah! You guys want to get a room? Tank and Bobby are looking like they were about to get a video camera and make an amateur porno movie of you two!" Carmella's voice cut in. Ranger sighed and pulled back slowly, with his arms still around me. We both looked at Carmella. She had an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. She looked at me and mouthed the word 'pregnant'. I glared back at her. She grinned and looked up at Ranger.

"Dude, I need money. Freya wants to go shopping. Oli wants to look for girls. So we need money."

"To look for girls?"

"To go shopping, fool." She replied impatiently. Ranger sighed and let go of me. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and took a load of dollar bills out. He handed them to her.

"Be back by six at the latest. I'll see you later."

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter. Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	21. Ready to rock?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Carmella smiled at her two best friends as Lester held open the door to the SUV and ushered them onto the back seat. They drove to the mall chatting and laughing about everything and anything.

"I just need to call the guys from school and tell them about tonight, that ok?" Carmella asked her friends. They both nodded their approval. Carmella pulled out her cell phone and located Harry's number in the contact list. He picked up after the third ring.

"'Lo?"

"Heya Haz, it's Carmella."

"Hey beautiful, what can I do for you?"

"Do you want to come out for dinner with us tonight? It's gonna be the gang from school, dad, Steph, a couple of the guys from the office and Oli and Freya."

"Your friends from Florida?"

"The very same. So you'll come? Be at the apartment by quarter past six at the latest. And tell all the others." She instructed. Harry laughed.

"Will do Miss Mañoso, see you later." He replied and hung up. They pulled into the mall car park and Lester turned off the engine, before turning in his seat to talk to the departing teens.

"Right, I'll pick you up here at five thirty. Don't be late." He instructed firmly in a voice that had been acquired after three years of army training. Carmella nodded and they all climbed out the car and ran into the centre. Freya looked around approvingly.

"It's not bad, the one in Miami is better though." She said. Oli shrugged.

"Whatever. Hey look at those girls!" He announced excitedly. Carmella followed his gaze and found herself looking at Shell, Stacey, Nikki, Lizzi and Sophie. She groaned and felt herself doing an eye roll before she could stop herself. She had spent too much time in the burg, damn that burg-ish housewife eye roll! The five girls were watching then intently.  
"Do you know them?" Freya whispered. Carmella nodded.

"They go to my school. They adopted me into their little friendship group but chucked me out when-" She was cut off by someone clearing their voice. They all turned and saw the five girls stood a few feet away from them. Carmella forced a smile to her face and looked at them.

"Oh hi, sorry I didn't see you there. How are you?" She said, her voice dripping with mock interest. Sophie gave a matching forced smile in response and then looked over to Oli. Her eyes travelled up and down before settling on his face. She displayed a carnivorous smile. Oli shuddered slightly, them smiled back.

"We were just hanging out, y'know, socialising. So who is this?" She asked. Carmella sighed again.

"This is Oli, he's a friend from Florida and this is Freya." She said indicating the girl stood behind Oli. Sophie flicked her eyes to Freya and then looked back to Oli. She held out her hand to him. He looked at it as though it was a poisonous snake and then shook it politely. Sophie licked her lips and continued to stare at him as though he were her prey. Freya cleared her throat.

"Well it was nice to meet you but we need to go now." She stated. Sophie looked over to her followers and then back at Oli.

"Hey Carmella, I'm sure you and…Freddie would like to do some girly shopping, why don't you leave Oli with us?" She hissed. Carmella frowned.

"Um that would be because Oli is my friend who I haven't seen in a long time and I want to spend time with him. Plus I really don't think he wants to hang out with you Sophie, take a hint. Oh and her name is Freya, not Freddie." She replied. Sophie glared and grabbed Oli's arm.

"Hey Mañoso, I think it's his choice." She shouted back. Oli squirmed.

"I wanna go with Carmella, as she is technically still my girlfriend." He mumbled. At those words Sophie dropped him as though he had just bitten her.

"Girlfriend?" She spat in disgust. Oli nodded and stepped backwards cautiously. "But you're going out with that guy in the expensive car." Sophie stated. Carmella sighed.

"Listen to me. The guy that dropped me off on my first day is not my boyfriend, he is my father." She said slowly, emphasising each word. Sophie stared at her in shock.

"Your father?" she repeated slowly. Carmella nodded.

"We're going now. Goodbye." She said and walked away, dragging Oli and Freya behind her.

They'd been shopping for a couple of hours when they decided to go and get some food. They walked into the food court and straight into Anthony Morelli. Carmella smiled at him.

"Hi Anthony." She greeted politely. He smiled back.

"Hey Mañoso, what are you up to?" He asked, looking Freya up and down. She blushed and smiled. Carmella rolled her eyes.

"Just a bit of shopping. These are my friends Oli and Freya." She said. Anthony shook hands with Oli, then kissed Freya's hand in a chivalrous fashion. She laughed sweetly. Anthony grinned.

"Hey Carmella, I was wondering-" He started, when someone walked up behind him and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Ready to go Anthony?" The person asked. Carmella looked up at Joe Morelli. She smiled nervously. He looked at her and his expression turned grim.

"Carmella, what are you doing here?" He asked, trying to sound polite. Carmella held up her shopping bags.

"Just doing what teenage girls do best." She replied. He nodded.

"I heard about the court case. It's fantastic, well done." He said in a strained voice. Carmella felt quite sorry for him. It couldn't be easy seeing Steph with another guy, joining a ready made family. She nodded.

"Yeah it's great. Anyway, we need to be getting lunch. It was good to see you again, have a nice day. I'll see you on Monday Anthony." She said. Joe nodded and smiled, then walked off. Anthony waved and followed his uncle. Freya looked at Carmella.

"So who were they, because they were hot!" She asked. Carmella laughed as they walked to the pasta food stall.

"Anthony goes to my school and Joe is his uncle and is also Stephie's ex boyfriend." She told them and then ordered her food. They sat at a table in the middle of the court and chatted about life in general. The sound of someone clearing their throat sounded behind them. They all looked around and saw the five girls stood by their table. Carmella sighed.

"Hello again. What is it this time?" She asked. They all had false smiles plastered to their faces. Nikki cleared her throat.

"Well we were wondering if you three would like to come out with us tonight to a party." She said, still smiling "Especially you Oli." She added quickly. Freya laughed under her breath. Oli looked terrified.

"We can't, we have plans for tonight. Sorry." Carmella said quickly. Sophie glared.

"Doing what?" She hissed. Carmella stared at her.

"Not that it's any of your business but we're going for a meal with my dad." She replied coldly. Sophie nudged Lizzi. She jumped and then said.

"Well how about we come as well? It'll be fun." Freya was staring at them in disbelief.

"Sorry this is quite a private thing. Family and friends only." She told the five girls. Carmella grinned. Freya hated rude people; they brought out the worst side of her. The five girls all glared at them, then turned and flounced off.

"Man they are annoying." Freya muttered. Carmella and Oli nodded in agreement.

They met Lester in the car park at exactly five thirty. He smiled and ushered them into the car. They ran up to Carmella's apartment to get ready for the meal. Oli decided he didn't need to get changed and so was slouched on the sofa watching The Simpsons. Freya and Carmella were both wearing black skirts and tops and were still doing hair and make up when there was a knock on the front door. Carmella ran out to answer it, waving her mascara wand as she went. She pulled the front door open and her seven friends spilled in, robed in long black cloaks and big black boots. Harry planted a kiss on Carmella's cheek as he came in. She smiled and ushered them into the lounge with Oli. After a quick introduction, she ran back into her room to finish doing her hair. She finally emerged with Freya behind her to find her eight friends all laughing and joking. She relaxed slightly. She hadn't really known how her cool friends from Florida would react to her new slightly out of the ordinary friends. Harry grinned when she walked in.

"Hey Princess, are we ready to rock?" He asked. She nodded.

"Ok, I'll just go up and tell my dad to get his ass in gear." She stated.

"I'll come with you. I desperately want to see your dad's apartment." Freya said grinning. Mandy jumped up.

"Oh me to!" The three girls walked down to the lift and went up to the seventh floor. Freya smiled at Mandy and examined her swishing black skirt.

"I like your skirt." She complimented. Mandy grinned.

"Thanks. Your top is cool." She returned the compliment. The lift doors slid open and they walked out into the hallway. Carmella pulled out her key card and opened the apartment door. The three girls walked in and Carmella watched in amusement as her two friends examined the room. Freya nodded.

"Stylish, it's very you Carmella." She grinned. Carmella laughed and walked towards the bedroom. She pushed the door open and was greeted with the sight of Stephie and her dad wrapped around each other both soaking wet and wrapped in skimpy towels. She shrieked and ran backwards at speed almost knocking over her two friends. The two adults jumped apart in a way that reminded Carmella of her situation with Junior earlier. She turned and ran back through the apartment dragging her two friends behind her, shrieking "My eyes! It burns!" as she went. They ran into the lift and mashed the button for the fourth floor. Carmella could feel her face burning up. The lift doors opened and the three girls bombed down the corridor and into the apartment squealing. Everyone looked up at them in confusion.

"What's up?" Meredith asked. Freya giggled. Mandy tossed her hair dramatically.

"We just walked in on Carmella's dad and Steph in the throws of passion." She gasped and jumped on Alex, who laughed and fell backwards onto the couch dragging Mandy with him. Harry grinned and slung an arm around Carmella.

"Can't imagine that was a comfortable situation." He laughed. Carmella groaned and buried her face into his shoulder. The intercom buzzed and Ranger's voice rand out in the apartment.

"Carmella we'll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes." He stated. Carmella nodded but didn't reply.

"Is she there?" She heard Steph's voice ask. "I imagine so." Her dad replied.

"So Mr Mañoso, we've got ten minutes. What could we possibly do?" Steph purred. Carmella squealed as her dad listed all the things he thought possible. She screamed and lunged at the intercom.

"You two are sick! Do you think we need to hear that? What is wrong with you?" She yelled and let go of the intercom button. Her friends were all in hysterics when she turned around. She glared.

"I'm glad you think my humiliation is amusing."

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Ranger and I waited for the teenagers with Bobby, Lester and Tank. They all fell out the lift giggling hysterically. How they managed to fit ten people in a lift I will never know. When they saw us, they all avoided eye contact with me and Ranger. I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Ranger put an arm around my waist and received a disapproving look from Carmella. She looked around then back to Ranger.

"Um, isn't Junior coming?" She asked. Bobby made a strangled noise.

"No, he's doing surveillance." Ranger replied. Junior hates surveillance, its common knowledge. Carmella glared slightly but decided not to comment. Tank, Bobby and Lester each drove a car to the restaurant. Ranger and I shared a car with Carmella and Harry. The drive was silent and when we arrived at the restaurant the two teenagers jumped out the car and ran towards the others. We walked into the restaurant and a waiter rushed over to us, beaming, and ushered us over to our table. I sat between Ranger and Lester with Ranger's hand resting on my thigh. This was fantastic.

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Carmella laughed and took a sip of her ice tea.

"So you guys all live in Trenton?" Freya asked the others. They all nodded.

"Yeah, me, Harry, Alex and Michael, Estella's boyfriend, share an apartment in the block just over the road from here." Dan told them. Carmella looked up.

"No way?" she asked in surprise. Alex nodded.

"Yeah we've been living there for a couple months." He said. She nodded and had another sip of her drink. She could see her father watching her out of the corner of his eye. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him.

"So Carmella, what exactly are we celebrating here?" Estella asked.

"Well, we won the court case! I'm staying in Trenton permanently!" She grinned. Mandy squealed and leaned over to hug her. Harry smiled and subtly rested a hand on the top of her thigh and squeezed it gently. Carmella smiled back.

"That's great news Princess." He stated. She nodded. Halfway through the meal, Freya nudged Carmella.

"Hey I was meaning to ask, who's Junior?" She asked Carmella froze with her fork halfway up to her mouth. Mandy grinned.

"Some guy Carmella got with. And he works for her dad." She explained. Harry froze and looked at Carmella.

"Is that true?" He asked. She cleared her throat and looked down at the table.

"We kissed twice. That was it, it was a mistake and it won't happen again." She muttered. Estella suddenly grinned.

"Hey isn't he that young fit one who picked you up from school once?" She asked. Carmella groaned and focused on her plate. She also felt Harry's hand slip off her thigh. She glanced over at him but he avoided her gaze.

They dropped the others off at their houses after the meal and headed back to the building. Carmella, Oli and Freya sat up until three in the morning watching old Disney films like they'd done when they were children. Then they climbed into Carmella's huge bed and fell asleep like young children.

Oli nudged her awake the next morning.

"We have to go sweetness, you gonna come see us off?" He asked. Carmella nodded and rolled out of bed. She quickly got dressed and followed her friends downstairs where Lester was waiting for them with a car. Freya gave her a hug and climbed into the car. Oli wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"I love you very much Carmella, you know that. But I was wondering, would you mind if I asked Freya out? It's just that I really like her and-" He started babbling. Carmella pushed a finger to his lips.

"Oli it's cool, of course I don't mind. In fact I think it would be great. You guys come up and visit again soon." She instructed. Oli grinned and gave her another hug. He climbed into the car as well. They all waved and the car disappeared down the road. Carmella sighed and walked back into reception. She was walking to the lift when she heard Bobby calling her.

"Hey Princess, there's a letter here for you. It arrived yesterday by the looks of it." Carmella smiled, took the letter and walked into the lift. She hit the button for the fourth floor and opened the letter. Inside was a small piece of blood red paper with the words _'soon my little angel, soon we shall meet again…'_ written on it in jet black ink. She didn't recognize the handwriting but she recognized the nickname. Little angel. She looked in the envelope and saw a small red package. She unwrapped it cautiously. The contents of the package fell onto her hand. Carmella shrieked and dropped it on the floor. She could feel vomit rising in her throat. Whoever sent this was sick.

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I rolled over and draped an arm across Ranger's firm stomach. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me so I was half on top of him. I smiled and nestled into him. Blissful. Just then the bedroom door swung open and Carmella walked in with Tank and Bobby behind her. I sat up quickly and pulled the cover up around me. Ranger groaned and sat up slowly.

"What is it?" He grumbled. Carmella glared at him, her eyes furious and filled with tears.

"Well I just got this in the mail but I can see you're busy so I'll leave you to it." She shrieked and threw a finger at him. I shrieked and jumped out of bed, clinging the cover to me.

"Jesus!" Ranger yelled and scrambled out of the bed. Carmella pushed past Tank and ran out the apartment. Ranger leaned over and looked at the finger.

"It's a little finger, Cuban." He stated. Bobby's lip curled.

"I don't know which is more disturbing, the fact that someone sent it to Carmella or that you can identify it." He muttered. Tank grinned in spite of the situation. I ran in to the toilet and threw up. Morning sickness is a bitch.

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Carmella brushed the tears off her face and threw some clothes into her rucksack. She threw it over her shoulder, grabbed her school bag and the car keys she'd taken from her dad's apartment and ran downstairs. She walked into the garage and checked that there was no one else. Then she disabled the security camera and ran over to the car. She threw her bags in the back then disabled the tracker on the cars underneath. She quickly made sure she had her beginners permit, then jumped into the car and sped out of the garage. She drove around the town for a while to shake off anyone who may have tried to follow her. Then she realised she didn't really have anywhere to go. As she drove past the restaurant they had eaten at last night, she remembered that Harry lived in the apartments opposite. Would he mind? If the situation was reversed, Carmella knew that she'd take him in without a second thought. She pulled her cell phone out of her bag and called him.

"lo?" He murmured sleepily.

"Harry its Carmella. Listen I'm parked outside your apartment building. I don't suppose I could come in?"

A few minutes later Harry had appeared at the building door and was showing Carmella where to park the Porsche. After securing it in the underground car park, Harry took her up to the loft apartment. Alex was sat on a chair in the kitchen eating cereal. He waved as she walked in. Carmella grinned and waved back. Harry took her bags off her and ushered her into his room. It was covered in posters of various bands and slogans such as 'Shit happens' and 'Don't do anything you're unwilling to tell the paramedics'. They sat on his double bed in silence for a few minutes, until he said.

"What's wrong Princess? You look totally lost and you've been crying." He stated. Carmella swiped her eyes.

"How could you tell?" She muttered. He grinned at her.

"You've got mascara all down your face." Carmella groaned and buried her face in a pillow. Then she told Harry about the letter and the finger and then she told him why she was really here.

"I don't feel like my dad needs me at home anymore. He's all over Stephie all the time. It just feels like he's beat madre so that's it. I'm probably just being stupid but…I dunno, he just seems fed up with me. I know this is majorly rude but I was wondering if I could crash here for a while, lay low." She smiled apologetically. Harry smiled.

"Sure, that's fine. The guys won't mind, Mandy, Caz and Estella are always coming to stay over here." He said comfortingly. Carmella looked at him.

"Why not Meredith?" She asked in confusion. Harry laughed.

"Because Meredith isn't going out with any of us. Wait, I wasn't saying we were going out or anything, I just-" He started desperately trying to cover his comment. Carmella laughed.

"Don't worry, I get it. And thanks for letting me stay."

They spent the rest of the day watching films and having a tournament with the other guys on the playstation. Carmella was a bit nervous around Michael having never met him before, but he turned out to be as much fun as the others. They ordered a pizza for dinner before turning in for the night. Harry had set up a bed on the couch.

"I'll sleep here and you can have my bed." He offered, while the guys stood behind him making 'whipped' gestures. Carmella shook her head.

"No way, I'm not kicking you out of your bed. The couch will be fine." She said adamantly and sat down to emphasise her point. Harry nodded.

"If you're sure."

"I am. Goodnight." Carmella smiled and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He smiled and walked into his room. She quickly changed into her pyjamas, called goodnight to the others and promptly fell asleep.

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Ranger paced up and down the office.

"Where the hell could she be? How did she disable the tracker?" He asked no one in particular. I touched his arm gently.

"She'll turn up Ranger; she's probably just gone off in a teenage strop to stay with a friend or someone. She'll be back soon." I said reassuringly. He nodded but kept pacing.

"No one's been able to find her all day. I can't file a missing person file, that'd just give Eva an inventive to re open the custody battle. I just hope she's ok."

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Carmella sat up and had a minor disorientated fuelled panic before she remembered where she was. The clock on the wall told her it was three in the morning. She groaned, rolled off the couch and went to get a glass of water. On the way back she walked past Harry's bedroom door. She wondered if he was still awake. She drank the water and quietly set it down on an end table. Then she slowly opened the bedroom door and tiptoed in, closing it behind her. He was lying on the right side of the bed wrapped in the duvet. He looked up as she walked in.

"What are you doing still awake?" He whispered. She smiled and slipped into the bed next to him.

"I got lonely. Can I sleep with you?" She whispered back. He smiled, nodded and threw the duvet over her. She pulled his arm around her waist and fell asleep, the comfiest she'd been in weeks.

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Sorry this took so long to update, just had loads of things on. Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter. Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	22. I'm a bad girl

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Carmella yawned and sat up in the bed. Harry's arm was still resting on her stomach protectively. It was nice. He rolled onto his back and blink.

"Good morning sunshine." Carmella chimed happily.

"Mornin'." He muttered and sat up, glancing over at the clock. "We've got an hour until school." He stated. Carmella nodded and climbed out of bed. She walked over to her bag and pulled out her change of clothes. Harry excused himself to go and use the bathroom. Carmella quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a tight black strap top. She was trying to put her necklace on when Harry walked back in.

"Hey could you give me a hand with this?" She asked. He walked over and brushed her hair out of the way. His hands were warm on her skin. She bit her bottom lip and tried to think innocent thoughts. He slowly drew his hands away.

"There you go." He said, clearing his throat. Carmella nodded.

"Thanks." She muttered and walked into the hall. Alex and Dan were sat at the table eating cereal and watching cartoons.

"Hey there Miss Mañoso. What, may I ask, were you doing in Harry's room?" Dan grinned. Carmella raised an eyebrow.

"I was just getting dressed. Wait that came out wrong…" She muttered. The two guys laughed and showed her where all the breakfast food was. Harry joined them halfway through 'Grim and Evil'.

"Wouldn't you love it if the Grim Reaper was really like that?" Dan asked. Carmella nodded. Harry looked as them as if they were insane.

Alex drove them into school as Carmella's car only had two seats. The girls were all sat under a tree in the grounds of the school when they arrived. Mandy jumped up and walked over to them as Alex parked the car. She threw her arms around Carmella.

"Where the hell have you been? We've been so worried; some of the guys who work for your dad called us last night and said you'd gone missing. I didn't know what to think, especially after that guy in your building and everything you've said about James…" She trailed off. Carmella smiled.

"I'm sorry you were worried. I just went to stay with the guys. Things at home have been a bit…strained lately and I had to get out." She explained. Everyone else had joined them by this time and they were all nodding sympathetically. As they were chatting a black SUV rolled to a stop at the front of the school.

"Oh shit!" Carmella hissed and hid behind the others. As she suspected, her dad and Tank climbed out the car and walked straight towards the Goths.

"Have you heard anything from Carmella since yesterday?" Tank asked straight off. Estella shook her head.

"I haven't, no. Sorry." She apologized. Ranger walked closer to them and stared Harry in the eyes. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you sure about that?" He said dangerously. Harry gulped and nodded. Then Carmella felt her leg cramp and she overbalanced. Tank walked around the teenagers and saw her sprawled on the ground. He raised an eyebrow then looked back at her friends.

"Any of you want to re-think your answers?" He asked. Carmella groaned. Then she scrambled to her feet and took off running across the field. She knew it was stupid. She knew she couldn't really outrun her dad and Tank, but right now she didn't want to talk to either of them. She heard footsteps running behind her and in a matter of seconds; she'd been tackled to the ground by Tank.

"Oh son of a bitch!" She yelled as pain shot into her stomach. He rolled off her as she clutched her middle. She looked up at her dad and Tank.

"You bastard! You've broken my ribs! They're still weak from last time they were broken and you buggered them up!" She shrieked. Tank winced.

"Sorry." He muttered. Her friends ran up to them and Harry stooped down to help her up. She gave a shriek of pain as pain ripped through her stomach. Her dad hadn't said anything to her. She wasn't even sure he was looking at her.

"Do you want us to take you to hospital?" He whispered. Carmella nodded.

"It's ok, she can come with us." Tank said. Carmella glared at the two men.

"No way. You stay away from me." She hissed at them and allowed Harry to help her back across the field. Alex had run ahead and had the car started. Harry opened the passenger door for her and then clambered in the back to find Mandy already strapped in. They tore out of the car park and headed towards the hospital. When they got there, Carmella was surprised to see Stephie was there in the waiting room. She looked up in surprise when Carmella walked in.

"Carmella? What's wrong? Are you ok?" She walked over to the battered teenager.

"I need to get x-rayed. Suspected broken ribs. Tank tackled me and my ribs aren't really the strongest since…y'know…" She trailed off. Steph nodded. Carmella smiled weakly.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked. Her surprise meant she wasn't here to see Carmella. Steph patted her stomach.

"Bambino check up. Carmella we have been so worried about you. Where did you go?" She asked exasperatedly. Carmella glanced over at Harry.

"I stayed with a friend. That's all." She replied, shrugging. "But I've got to say, dad didn't seem all that worried about me today. In fact he didn't even ask how I was; he wouldn't look at me when Tank got me. Seems to me that he just doesn't care." She added coldly. Steph sighed and was about to say something when the nurse called "Carmella Mañoso." Carmella stood, gave Stephie a final glance and followed the nurse.

The x-ray confirmed her suspicions, she had two cracked ribs. The doctor saw her and wrapped a thick bandage around her middle. She was given check up dates and told to take it easy. She met the others in the waiting room and noticed Junior leaning against a wall.

"Tank sent me to see how you are." He explained. Carmella lifted up her top to show the bandages.

"Two broken ribs. I've already had the 'we were so worried' lecture from Stephie so don't even bother. And before you even ask, no. I'm not coming home tonight." She stated. Junior nodded, he knew better then to try and stop her. They drove back to school and made it just in time for the beginning of drama.

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I watched Carmella walk out of the waiting room and sighed. I wanted to tell her that Ranger still loves her, that he desperately wants her to come home, that he's not the same when she's not there. But she didn't want to hear it. The only thing she'd told me was where she was staying. Not on purpose of course, but the way her eyes had flickered to Harry when she mentioned her friend had told me what I needed to know. If she didn't come home tonight then we could go and get her. A nurse called me in for my check up. My doctor came in all rainbows and smiled. She smiled when she said the babies where fine, she smiled when I couldn't make out the baby on the ultrasound and she smiled when I left. People who smile all the time make me nervous. I just feel like they've done something wrong and are trying to cover it up, like they've got something to hide. I wondered if this was why Ranger doesn't smile continuously. He's not hiding anything.

I mused on this thought on the drive home, stopping to get some proper food (such as doughnuts, Oreos and Twinkies). I found Tank and Lester in the control room throwing peanuts in the air and catching them in their mouths.

"It's good to see you guys take this job so seriously." I said grinning. Lester grinned and chewed his peanut. When the peanuts had run out, we decided to play something different. We put a length of string through the holes on three doughnuts and then tied each end of the string to opposite office walls. The rules are to eat the doughnut off the string without using your hands. For a while it looked like Lester was winning, until the doughnut fell off the string and landed, sprinkle side down, on his face. Tank was laughing so much he almost chocked on his doughnut. We were on our third doughnuts (Me-1, Tank-1, Lester-0) when Ranger walked in just as Lester's third doughnut fell off the string and hit him in the face. Tank and I burst out laughing, then noticed Ranger stood in the doorway looking unimpressed. Lester pulled the doughnut off his face and held it out to Ranger.

"You want some boss?" He offered, with huge chocolate sauce smudges and sprinkles smeared across his face. Ranger raised an eyebrow critically.

"I won't bother asking what's going on. It really is quite obvious. You've all gone mad." He stated. I giggled and pulled my doughnut off the string; causing Tank's to ping up into his face and Junior to burst out laughing. He rolled his eyes and slung an arm around my waist.

"I take it everything's ok then. By the way, you have raspberry toppings around your eye." He told me. I grinned sheepishly as he turned to walk out and walked straight into Junior, who stumbled back and looked down at the floor.

"Sorry boss." He mumbled. Tank looked at him

"Did you see her?" He asked. Junior nodded.

"Two broken ribs. She said she'd already seen Steph and had the 'we were so worried' lecture and that she wasn't going to come home tonight." He recited "That was all she said, then she walked off." Tank looked incredibly guilty.

"This is so screwed up. When she got here she was so energetic and quick witted. But now, she's done a complete turn around. This custody battle has got to her more than she's letting on. Maybe she needs proper help." He suggested. Ranger shook his head.

"No way, I'm not sending my daughter to a shrink. She'll be fine." He said adamantly. I rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Ranger, she thinks that you don't care about her anymore. She said that today you didn't even look at her. Carmella's been through a rough time and she really needs you. She needs to be settled." I said softly, not sure if Ranger would appreciate the other guys hearing that. His expression didn't change, but his eyes told a different story. He did care, if anything he cared too much. But he didn't let on. He just nodded and walked out. Tank sighed.

"Well that wasn't at all depressing. Jeez, Carmella's going to be mad with me. I can't believe I broke two of her ribs." He said guiltily.

"Hey man you were doing the right thing." Junior said comfortingly. Tank nodded.

"Yeah but you're about four times her size and body mass. Let's face it buddy, you're not exactly a stick insect." Lester said, grinning widely. Tank glared and shoved him out of his chair. I got out my chair and quietly slipped out the room after Ranger. I found him in the offices on one of the computers. When I got closer I saw he was searching for houses in the local area.  
"You're right Steph, she needs to be settled. This building…it's not as safe as I thought it would be. She needs a home, not an office." He said without even looking up. I took a step closer and saw all the houses were in the millions price range. Impressive. Then a thought struck me. A rather selfish thought, but a thought nonetheless.

"So you two will get a proper house?" I asked. Ranger nodded. "Um, so would it be ok for me to keep living here?" I asked sheepishly. Ranger stopped typing and swivelled in his chair to look at me.

"I guess you could stay here if you want. Though I was thinking you might like to move in with Carmella and me."

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They stood in the drama hall waiting for Andy, he was late as usual. Carmella was still clutching her side and wincing gingerly. It hadn't done her any good when Meredith had ran and given her a hug when she'd walked in. Anthony Morelli sidled up to them, smiling slyly.

"What are you up to Morelli?" Carmella asked suspiciously. He grinned.

"I saw the little fiasco this morning and came to see if you were ok. And what trouble you'd got yourself into. Those guys were fucking scary." He said, grin still firmly in place. Carmella sighed.

"Two broken ribs. And I wasn't in trouble. Well, not that kind of trouble. I just left home last night and didn't tell anyone where I was going. The guys were my dad and his…um…his sidekick Tank." She replied, not sure Tank would be impressed with the label sidekick. Anthony grinned at her.

"You're quite the rebel aren't you?" She laughed.

"Well, I try." Estella walked over to them and leaned over to Carmella.

"We can't be bothered with this; do you wanna hit the shops?" She asked. Carmella shrugged then nodded.

"Sure, sounds good." Anthony grinned and rested a hand on the small of her back.

"I'll see you later." He whispered and walked off to join his football friends. Estella linked her arm with her and they walked out the hall with the others. Alex, Mandy, Harry and Carmella went in Alex's car while the other four went in Estella's car. Mandy turned to look at Carmella, grinning.

"I apologize if we're leading you astray, but Andy wasn't going to show. One of the kids in class saw him going into an old classroom with the French teacher, Madam Lewis." She grinned "I bet you were such a good girl in Miami." She laughed. Carmella grinned.

"I wouldn't say that. I was expelled from my last school." She admitted sheepishly. Mandy burst into a fresh wave of laughter. Harry and Alex looked impressed.

"What did you do?" Harry asked. Carmella grinned with pride.

"Blew up a toilet in the boys' bathroom." Alex had to pull over because he was laughing so much. Harry grinned.

"You're really very different to how you come across." He said admiringly.

"What can I say? I'm a bad girl."

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I pulled up outside the bonds office and walked in. Connie and Lula looked up at me and grinned.

"Hey girl, long time no see! Last I heard you were living with batman and batgirl." Lula grinned. I laughed and sat on the dung sofa. Connie looked at me.

"So are you here for FTA's?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Sorry I'm trying to take it easy. I don't think being a bounty hunter is the most suitable of jobs at the moment. I was wondering if you needed help with filing or anything office like." I asked. Connie smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, we've got it covered here." I sighed. I hadn't really expected anything else.

"Oh well, always worth asking. I'm going to hit the shops." I announced and started towards the door. Lula dropped her files and jumped up.

"Hold on there, I'll come with you." She announced and grabbed her purse. Connie frowned.

"On second thoughts Steph, it looks like there is an office job going seeing as Lula's about to get fired. Lula pouted.

"The hell I am. We'll get you a present." She promised and followed me out of the door. We drove to the mall and managed to get a parking space reasonably close to the shopping centre itself, which is quite a rare feat.

We'd been shopping for just over an hour when we decided to go and get something to eat. We were sat in the food court when we heard some loud laughter and clapping. Lula suddenly pointed to a table and said

"Hey, isn't that Carmella?" I shook my head.

"It can't be. She's in school." I said adamantly.

"Think again girlfriend, she's right there." Lula said stubbornly. I sighed and looked around. Carmella was sat at a table with her friends.

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Carmella laughed as Alex balanced the seventh French fry on his nose. Mandy applauded and grinned widely. Dan grinned.

"Ok Mand, now you have to eat the fries off Alex's nose." Carmella and Caz were crying with laughter.

"No way, she'll bite my nose off." Alex mumbled. Mandy glared, leaned over and picked three of the fries up with her nose. They were all laughing when there was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them. Alex spun his head to see who it was, sending the remaining fries flying off in various directions. They all looked up and saw Steph stood there looking very unimpressed. Carmella grimaced as Stephie glared at her.

"Carmella what are you doing here?" She asked. Carmella shrugged.

"We're just having lunch. We're allowed to leave school to have lunch." She lied quickly. Steph raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Nice try. Carmella your father is worried sick about you. We all are."

"Yeah? Well you're all doing a great job of pretending not to care, I've got to say." She replied coldly. Steph sighed and walked off. Estella whistled.

"Woah, ice queen." She muttered. Carmella shrugged.

"Are we done here? I want to get some new clothes."

By the time they finished shopping; Carmella had another new wardrobe, with all the clothes approved by Estella. It was also the end of school. The group said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Harry said it was fine for Carmella to stay another night so she went back with them. After dinner and a film, they all turned in for the night. When she was sure everyone was asleep, Carmella got off the sofa and tip-toed into Harry's bedroom. He looked up when she walked in and smiled. Without asking any questions, he pulled back the duvet and Carmella climbed into the bed next to him and they fell asleep.

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Ranger paced up and down the control room.

"What am I supposed to do? If I don't go and look for her she'll accuse me of not caring. If I do go and look for her she'll say I'm being overprotective." He said, obviously frustrated. The guys all shrugged.

"Go and get her." I said "I'm pretty sure she's staying with her friend Harry. He lives in the apartment block opposite the restaurant we were in on Saturday, I remember him saying." I told them. Tank nodded.

"Steph's right man, you've got to go and get her." He agreed. Ranger nodded.

"Ok, let's go."

Ranger, Tank and I drove to the apartment block in silence. The streets were dark and there were hardly any other cars. We pulled up outside the building and a quick conversation with the handy man told us that four teenage boys lived in the top apartment. We took the elevator up and Tank knocked loudly on the door. A boy I didn't recognize with scruffy brown hair opened the door, bleary eyed.

"What?" He mumbled. Tank pushed him to one side and we walked into the apartment. There was a bed made up on the sofa but no one was in it.

"Hey you can't just barge in here, who the hell are you?" The boy mumbled. A bedroom door opened and a boy with white hair stuck his head out. I recognized him as Alex.

"Mike what the hell is going on?" He asked, then saw Tank and Ranger and muttered "Oh shit…" Ranger walked over to him.

"Is Carmella here?" He asked. Alex gulped and nodded. "Where is she?" Ranger asked. Alex shrugged.

"I dunno, she was on the sofa as far as I know." He said nervously.

"Hey didn't she come out of Hazza's bedroom this morning?" Mike asked as he poured himself a glass of water. Alex grimaced. Dan walked out of his room with Cassandra standing behind him. Alex looked at them and grinned.

"Hey Caz, what are you doing here? Though I think I can guess." He laughed. Caz blushed and smiled.

"Hi Mr Mañoso. What's up?" She said politely.

"We're just looking for Carmella." I replied. She shot a nervous glance at Alex.

"They know she's here Caz." He muttered. She groaned.

"'Mel's gonna kill us." She muttered and walked back into the bedroom with Dan following her. Ranger looked at the last bedroom door that hadn't been opened and pushed it open forcefully.

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Carmella opened her eyes as the door crashed open and saw her dad stood in the doorway looking furious.

"Oh shit…" She muttered and shrank further back. Harry mumbled and opened his eyes.

"Princess what's…oh fuck." He whispered as he saw Carmella's dad and Tank walking into his room.

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I stared in shock at the two teenagers. Harry scrambled as far away from Carmella as he could without falling off the bed. Ranger stormed over and pulled Carmella out of the bed by her wrist. She struggled and tried to pull away.

"Dad we weren't doing anything! We were just sleeping, nothing happened. Let go you're hurting me!" She yelped and tried to dance away. She was wearing her 'boys are stupid' pyjamas and her hair was huge.

"Steph get her bags." Ranger instructed. I nodded and grabbed all her stuff including, I noticed, a few shopping bags. Carmella was still trying to pull away from Ranger and was trying to bite his hand at the same time. Tank took her things off me and swiped her car keys off the kitchen table.

"Papa get off me! This is illegal, its kidnap or assault or something!" She shrieked. I ran in front of them and opened the apartment door.

"Dad let me go! Thanks for letting me stay you guys, I appreciate it and I'm sorry about this." She called to the guys, who all replied that it was fine and she could come and stay whenever. Tank shut the door behind us and we got into the lift. Carmella was still trying to pull away from her father and was glaring. Ranger still looked furious. When the lift reached the bottom, Tank went down to the garage to get the car Carmella had taken, while Ranger, Carmella and I went to the SUV. He practically threw her into the back of the car. When we got back to the building, she jumped out the car and practically ran out the garage. Ranger sighed.

"She hates me." He stated. I rested an arm on his shoulder.

"She doesn't hate you. She was just embarrassed in front of you and her friends, she's just angry. She'll be ok, just give her time."

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Carmella slammed her bedroom door and threw herself onto her bed. After pummelling her cushion she burst into tears. Her bedroom door opened and her dad walked in. She turned away from him but he still came in and sat on the bed next to her. She tried to ignore him as he started to brush the hair off her face.

"Carmella I've been so worried about you. I didn't know what to think yesterday when you just left. You could have been picked up by anyone. James or…anyone else. I'm sorry about the way I reacted back at your friends' apartment and I know you're growing up but…you're only fifteen and I don't want you to get into anything you might regret. I know what it's like to grow up too fast." He said softly.

"I'm tired. I need to go to sleep." Carmella whispered. Her dad was quiet for a while, then he stood and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	23. Why did no one tell us this?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

I woke up the next morning to find that Ranger wasn't in the bed. I walked out into the hall and saw him on the phone, pacing up and down the kitchen. He thanked whoever he was on the phone to and hung up. When he saw me he smiled.

"Morning babe, we've got a house." He grinned. I nodded.

"I must say that is the most original greeting I've heard in a while. But that's great. Where is it?" I asked. He grinned.

"Surely that would spoil the mystery. We can't move till just after Christmas but that's fine. It's a great house; I just hope Carmella likes it." He mused. I nodded.

"She will. Wait, Christmas! I forgot about Christmas! It's in three weeks and I forgot about it!" I exclaimed. Though by my standards, remembering with three weeks to spare is pretty good going. Ranger grinned, then there was a knock at the door. I opened it and saw Carmella stood there in her pyjamas, smiling sheepishly and holding a breakfast tray.

"I ran into Ella and I told her I'd bring the breakfast. Mind if I join you?" She asked. I smiled and stood aside to let her in. Ranger wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Good morning sweetheart." He smiled. She grinned.

"Morning old man. Where do you want the atrocious grapefruit? May I suggest the bin?" She asked in the voice the happy voice I hadn't heard for a couple of weeks. I laughed and set the table for breakfast. Things were starting to return to normal.

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Carmella was sat on the sofa while her dad and Steph got dressed when the intercom buzzed. She flitted over to it as Tanks voice rang through the apartment.

"Hey Tank its Carmella. What's up?" She asked.

"I've got Ran-your dad's mother on the phone. She wants to know if he'll be joining them for Christmas this year. She wanted me to add 'that is if he's not busy as he has been for the past goodness-knows-how-many years'" Carmella laughed.

"Of course we'll join them. It'll be great, I'll tell dad. Thanks Tank and don't feel to bad about the ribs, though if you wanted to buy me a gift I would graciously accept."

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I looked at Ranger as he pulled on a black t-shirt.

"When are you going to tell Carmella about the house?" I asked. He looked at me.

"I thought I'd save it till Christmas time, have it as a surprise." He answered. I nodded and smiled. It was a good idea. We walked out into the lounge to find Carmella watching cartoons. She smiled at us.

"Dad we're going to Nanna Mañoso's for Christmas, isn't that great?" She said, beaming. Ranger froze.

"What?" He asked in shock. Carmella grinned.

"She asked, I said yes. It's a time to be with family and all that jazz. Hey Stephie do you want to come?" She offered. I considered this. I'd get to spend the day with Ranger's family and learning all about where batman originated. I'd also have a great excuse out of the disastrous Christmas dinner at my parents' house. It was a tricky one alright…

"Sure if that's ok with your family." I replied. She grinned and stood up.

"Well I see my work here is done. I shall bid you adieu and go get ready for school." I wondered how to tell my parents that I would be spending Christmas with Ranger and his family. Grandma Mazur would certainly understand but my mother was a bit harder to talk round. On the other hand, Valerie never came down for Christmas when she was married and living elsewhere, so in that sense I might be alright.

"Ok, I'm going to the com room to pretend to work." I announced. Ranger nodded and gave me a kiss on the nose.

"Later then babe." I walked out into the lift. Tank and Bobby were already in there and, surprisingly, they were actually working.

"Uh oh, here comes trouble." Bobby grinned. I swatted him round the head and sat down in a spare chair.

"What are we up to?" I asked. The guys glanced at each other.

"We're trying to track down this guy who threatened Carmella. We're guessing it's the same person who sent her the finger. The most likely scenario is that James is behind this and, as the scar face guy said, he met a few people who'd had bad experiences with the Mañoso's. There are a lot of them, it may just be that they're using Carmella as a scape-goat because James managed to organise it. It may be that they're after Ranger and are using Carmella's appearance to explain their sudden appearance. Basically we just don't know." Tank said in a defeatist voice. Bobby kicked the wall angrily.

"Yeah and it's pissing me off." He growled. Tank nodded in agreement. I sighed and looked at some of the papers they had in front of them.

"Have you checked the Florida police records for the name of that guy? If he is who he says then he'll be on record, he said he was arrested for robbing a shop and assaulting a guard or something with Carmella as the only witness." I contributed. Tank stared at me. Bobby grabbed the phone.

"Why did no one tell us this earlier?" Tank asked. I shrugged.

"You and Ranger were out cold and no one ever really asked me. I just assumed that Carmella would have said something." I replied  
"Normally she would have, but she was beside herself with worry, what with you and Ranger in hospital. Hello Florida law department please." Bobby muttered to us, then to the phone directory. I nodded and felt slightly pleased with myself for helping. Ten minutes later, we had the information on the court case, a name and a last known address.

"This is brilliant, we finally have a lead!" Bobby grinned excitedly.

"Good work Bomber." Tank said appreciatively. Just then the door opened and Ranger walked in.

"What've you done?" He asked me. I grinned.

"She's fantastic boss! She's a fucking genius. She managed to get us the first lead on the guy who broke in here. This could be the key we need to nail this guy." Bobby said. Ranger grinned at me and planted a kiss on my lips.

"You're fantastic." He smiled and walked out. I really was feeling very pleased with myself today.

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Carmella grabbed her lunch tray and went to join her friends on their table in the corner. They were halfway through eating when Anthony Morelli walked up to them.

"Hey there Mañoso, hope you're not feeling to sore today. I was wondering, have you got a date for this winter dance?" He asked. Carmella was shocked. She shook her head and could see Harry out of the corner of her eye, looking down at his food with an angry expression on his face. Anthony smiled.

"Cool. So I was wondering maybe we should go together. Think about it." He grinned.

"I'll consider it." She replied aloofly. Anthony winked and walked off. Caz squealed.

"Woah Mel, he is totally fit! You are so lucky!" Dan cleared his throat.

"Hi, my name's Dan. I'm your boyfriend." He stated "But anyway, I thought you were opposed to all the 'beautiful people'" He said. Caz shrugged.

"I don't know. I think Morelli's different, he's kinda cool." She replied.

"I'd forgotten about the dance. Hey Harry are you going with anyone?" Meredith asked. Carmella froze. Harry looked up in surprise and shook his head, not looking at Carmella. Meredith smiled.

"We should go together, it'd be cool." She suggested. Harry glanced at Carmella and then nodded.

"Sure, sounds good." He answered. Carmella felt her insides turn icy with anger and upset. Maybe she'd misread all the signs, maybe Harry didn't like her. Well if that was the case…

"Hey Anthony!" Carmella called across the canteen. Anthony walked back to their table.

"Can't get enough of me, hey Mañoso." He grinned. Carmella smiled.

"I've thought about it and yeah, I'll go to the dance with you." She said. Anthony's smile widened and he looked genuinely pleased.

"Alright, cool. I'll arrange the car and everything." He offered.

"No it's cool, I can get the chauffeur and the car free of charge." She insisted.

"Hey that's even better. More money to buy gifts and flowers to shower you with." He grinned and walked off. When he was out of earshot, Mandy and Caz squealed loudly.

"He's such a cutie, Carmella you are so lucky!" Mandy grinned. Carmella blushed slightly and smiled. Harry looked like he was about to cough up a fur ball. His loss, Carmella told herself, he should have given clearer signals. After eating, they walked out onto the field and sat under their tree. Alex and Dan had dragged Harry off to talk to him about whatever it is guys talk about. The girls were all chatting about the dance and arranging to go shopping for dresses.

"Do you have any gum?" Carmella asked, running her tongue over her teeth and trying not to shudder. The other girls shook their head.

"Dan always has some. Go ask him." Caz instructed, then added "Get me some as well." Carmella nodded and walked towards the guys. As she got closer, their conversation became audible.

"Haz what the hell is up with you? Why are you going to the dance with Mer? I mean, you know I love her dearly but…you love Carmella. Don't pretend otherwise." Dan hissed. Harry tensed.

"I don't love her. I don't really know her. Even if I did, she's into Morelli like every other shallow slut in this school." He growled. Carmella felt her eyes fill with tears. She went to walk away but stepped on a stick, which snapped and drew the guys' attention to her. Harry's face fell when he saw her.

"Shit, Carmella I wasn't saying-"

"Save it for someone who isn't a shallow slut Harry." She hissed and walked back to the tree. She grabbed her bag then walked as fast as she could across the field to the car park. She pulled her cell phone out her bag and was dialing the office number when she walked straight into Anthony. He grabbed her arms and steadied her before she fell over.

"Where are you off to in a hurry?" He asked, concerned. Carmella sniffed.

"I'm going home. I just need to call my dad…" She muttered.

"No need, I'll give you a lift." He stated "You feeling ill or something?" He asked as he led her to his car.

"Yeah, something." Carmella muttered. Mandy ran up to her looking worried.

"Caramel what's up? Are you ok?" She asked.

"She just feels ill. I'm going to give her a lift home." Anthony explained. Mandy looked confused.

"Um, Alex or Estella could give you a lift if you want. Or Harry, I think-"

"No! I mean, I just want to go home. I'll probably see you tomorrow." Carmella muttered and climbed into the car. She waved goodbye to Mandy and they drove down the street towards the office. When they reached the building, Anthony looked up at it, obviously impressed.

"Nice. Well I'll see you tomorrow, feel better soon." He said softly and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She smiled and climbed out the car, already feeling slightly better about the whole situation.

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We were trying to find more link, when the door opened again and Carmella walked in looking deeply upset.  
"Hey Carmella, what's up?" I asked, wondering how she was so upset already, she'd been fine in the morning.

"Huh? Um nothing, I just need a dress for the winter dance. Oh and I need a cool car with a chauffeur to take me there. One of you guys up for it?" She asked. Tank and Bobby shrugged and nodded. I examined her face.

"Carmella you look like you've been crying. What's wrong?" I asked. She shrugged and muttered something that sounded like 'men are bastards'. I nodded and decided a subject change was in order.

"So, do you have a date for the dance?" I asked. She flushed slightly and nodded.

"Um yeah actually, I'm going with Anthony Morelli." She mumbled. Tank and Bobby grimaced.

"Remind me to be out of the state when you tell your dad." Bobby murmured. Carmella sighed.

"Ok so I know Dad is way overprotective and the Morelli's don't have the best of reputations, but Anthony's cool." I nodded in vague approval.

Somehow, forty minutes later Carmella and I were ball dress shopping. After a couple of hours she finally picked out a beautiful corset style black dress. Then we went Christmas shopping. By the end of the day I was amazed. I had all my Christmas shopping done. Carmella had done all of hers as well, she had been panicking as apparently she usually had it done by now. This comment earned her a glare. We finally got back to the apartment and were thrown into a hectic, work-fuelled panic. We worked into the com room and saw Tank, Bobby, Junior and Hal all answering phones and writing messages on various pieces of paper.

"Carmella, Harry has phoned about nine times." Bobby said as we walked in.

"If he calls again tell him to burn in hell." She instructed and walked out. The guys all shrugged and went back to answering phones.

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Carmella had successfully avoided Harry for almost two weeks when she literally ran into him in a corridor at school. She bounced backwards and landed on her ass on the floor. He grimaced and offered her a hand, which she ignored.

"Carmella please, I-" He started. Carmella got to her feet and glared.

"Save it Harry, I couldn't care less." She hissed and walked down the corridor. She had more important things to worry about, after all it was Christmas in a week and the dance was tonight.

"Carmella!" A voice behind her called. Carmella turned and saw Mandy running towards her, smiling.

"Heya Mel, long time no see. I heard what Harry said. He's lying. I know that he really likes you, he was just hurt I think. And dumb. Anyway it's kind of more complicated because Meredith really likes him and she thinks he likes her. But he doesn't, he likes you and if I'm honest I think you like him. Just try and sort it out, I'm going to stop talking now because I'm getting confused." She finished. Carmella smiled.

"I hope Harry and Meredith are very happy, I really do. Anyway I need to go home and get ready. I'll see you at the ball though; I need to give you your Christmas present!" She grinned. Mandy laughed.

"Cool, well we have two spare seats on out table if you and Anthony want to join us." She offered. Carmella nodded.

"Yeah we'll do that. I'll see you later!" She promised and went to find her lift home.

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I was spinning around on one of the chairs in the com room, when a hand stopped the chair and pulled me around to face the owner of said hand. Ranger smiled at me, the kind of smile someone uses when they want something. I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"What do you want?" I asked. He smiled.

"I was just wondering…do you know who Carmella's going to the ball with?" He asked. I stared at him.

"If she didn't tell you, what makes you think I will?" I asked. He muttered mutinously and made towards the door but was stopped by Carmella walking in with her hair done and her dress on. I felt myself beaming with pride.

"Carmella you look beautiful." I said. Ranger smiled adoringly.

"You really do sweetheart. So when's your date picking you up?" He asked innocently. Carmella smiled.

"He's not; we're picking him up since we have the car. Don't wait up!" She called and walked out. Ranger frowned slightly, then looked at me. I smiled.

"Still not going to tell you."

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Carmella met Bobby in the garage, who was leaning against a black 1956 Vintage Bentley. She squealed excitedly. Bobby grinned and stood up.

"M'lady, your carriage awaits." He said and opened the door for her.

"Why thank you Brown." She replied courteously and climbed into the car, gathering her skirt around her. They drove into the burg and stopped outside one of the houses. Bobby got out and walked up to the house. Anthony opened it and did a slight double take at Bobby. He followed him down to the path and admired the Bentley. Bobby opened the door for Anthony, who climbed in and admired Carmella.

"Hey Mañoso, you look great." He smiled. She blushed slightly and smiled back.

"You don't look to bad yourself Morelli." She replied. Bobby glanced at them in the rear view mirror.

"Madam, may I suggest that, just for tonight, you address each other using first names." He smiled. Carmella laughed.

"Yes, of course Brown. Now, eyes on the road please. So Anthony, do you have any plans for the holiday?" she asked.  
"Just a big family gathering. It's usually quite fun. Which reminds me, I got you a present." He stated and pulled a small package out of his pocket. Carmella smiled and took it gratefully. She opened it and a bracelet studded with black and deep purple gems. She smiled at him and put it on.

"It's so beautiful, thank you." She smiled. He grinned.

"I'm glad you like it." He said earnestly. She grinned happily and pulled a football out from under the seat.

"I got you this. I know, it's not romantic or anything but I had no idea what else to get you so I got you this." She stated and handed it to him. He grinned ecstatically.

"This is awesome! Thanks Carmella, I serious appreciate it." Carmella laughed and leaned over to give him a hug. At the last minute, he turned and kissed her lightly on the lips. She froze from surprise and looked at him.

"Sorry." He whispered.

"No it's…well, one of my dad's best friends is sat up front. I don't think he'd be too happy to find out I'd been kissing a Morelli." She whispered back. Anthony laughed softly. The car rolled to a stop outside the school hall. Bobby got out and opened the door for Carmella.

"Thank you Brown, I'll call you when we need picking up." She told him. Bobby nodded, smiled briefly at Anthony and drove off. Carmella smoothed out her skirt and smiled at Anthony. He gazed at her.

"You look…wow. I never knew a Goth could scrub up so well." He grinned. She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"How about just for tonight, you don't be a total jerk." She grinned. He laughed and linked his arm with hers. They walked into the hall, smiling politely at people who passed them. The 'beautiful people' were glaring at Carmella. She smiled sweetly back at them. Anthony started leading her towards his football friends.

"No way Anthony, we're sitting with my friends tonight, I don't know the first thing about football and I will not spend my night talking to a load of meatheads." She said adamantly and pulled him towards her friends. They all looked amazing. Mandy waved and indicated the two spare chairs between her and Harry. Carmella took the seat by Mandy, wanting to put as much space between her and Harry. She passed out gifts to everyone, cunningly avoiding giving Harry a gift. Mandy gave her a pair of black crystal earrings, Estella gave her a black rose hair accessory, Meredith gave her a black chocker and Caz gave her a pair of black lace gloves. The guys gave her CD's but Harry had apparently also decided to go for the whole gift thing, at least not for Carmella. The evening was fun and filled with cheesy music and dancing. Carmella danced with Anthony, Alex, Dan and Michael and then she danced with the girls as well. After a couple of hours, she was watching Anthony playing football with the guys and girls. She was smiling as Mandy tackled Alex to get the football. A hand rested on her shoulder. She turned and saw Harry taking a seat next to her. She ignored him and looked back to the game.

"I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean any of the things I said about you. I just…I'm really sorry. I got you this." He said and handed her a black box tied with purple ribbon. She smiled slightly and opened it. Inside was a beautiful black lace negligee with purple silk flowers decorating the bottom.

"Harry I…I don't know if I can accept this." She mumbled modestly. He smiled.

"I want you to have it; I got it a while ago. Just…I don't know, where if for Anthony or something I don't mind. I just want you to be happy." He explained.

"And Morelli apparently. Well…thank you. It's beautiful. Against my better belief I got you this." She smiled and pulled a Metallica CD out of her bag. Harry grinned and took it.

"That's great, thanks Carmella." He grinned. She smiled. Anthony walked up to them and pulled Carmella to her feet.

"Come on; let's dance" He grinned. Carmella laughed, smiled at Harry and let Anthony lead her to the dance floor. After dancing for almost an hour, Anthony took her outside under the tree where Carmella usually sat with her friends.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He smiled. She laughed softly.

"I'm not that great." She muttered. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lowered his mouth to hers. It was amazing; there was no denying he was a good kisser. 'I wonder if Harry's a good kisser. Maybe he's more…passionate, dark…God I'm such a slut' she thought. Anthony pulled away and smiled.

"It's Harry isn't it? You like him." He sighed. Carmella grimaced.

"What? No…how did you guess?" She asked. Anthony smiled amicably.

"You kind of mumbled his name. Plus I saw the present he got you which, by the way, I like." He brushed a strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. "I'd like us to still be friends. I really like you but it's obvious you don't feel the same." Carmella sighed.

"Oh you have no idea how much I want to be attracted to you. But I want to be friends. I'm so sorry." She murmured. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"That's fine. But I just want to say, don't leave it too late because you'll regret it. Tell hi how you feel, it'll be better in the long run. Let's go back to the party." He smiled, wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her back into the hall. When they walked back in, Harry raised an eyebrow questioningly but decided to say nothing. Estella ran up to them.

"Hey, you guys wanna skip? There's an amazing club that Michael thinks he can get us into." She grinned. Carmella looked up at Anthony.

"You go, I think I'll stick around and play football. Have fun." He grinned and kissed her on the forehead again. She smiled.

"Thanks, oh but if you hook up with any of the 'beautiful people', then I will hurt you quite badly." He laughed, said goodbye to the others and walked over to his football friends. Carmella called Bobby and told him she was going to stay at one of her friend's house overnight and that she'd be back in the morning. After checking that this friend was female, he gave it the ok. They climbed into Alex's and Michael's cars and set off to the club.

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Bobby walked into the com room at about 10 o clock without Carmella. Ranger looked at him inquiringly.

"Dude, where's my daughter?" He asked.  
"Staying at a friends. A female friend, I checked." He told us. Ranger nodded, then cursed as his pager bleeped.

"I've got to go on a bust, some big drug deal going down tonight and we've been called in. Gentlemen, it's time for us to go fight crime."

"To the bat mobile!" Tank grinned. I laughed a kissed Ranger lightly on the lips.

"Don't get shot." He grinned and walked out, with his band of merry men following him. I laughed quietly, then yawned. Man I was tired. I went up to the seventh floor, wishing I still had the stamina of a 15 year old.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? What do you think of updating the chapters so soon after each other (I've had quite a bit of spare time, exams are nearly over!) do you want more time between each chapter or not? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato! Oh and PS Who does everyone think Carmella should get with in the end, because I know a few are liking Junior, but others are Harry fans (Morelli could still be in the running!) I'll try to take all suggestions into account!


	24. You don’t have to look so smug

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her! Oh, and I'd also like to say now that the idea of 'The Night Circus' is that of my friend, the real-life Amanda! She's fab and talented, so thanks Mandy, love ya!**

They parked the cars around the back of the club and then walked around to the front. The bouncers looked over at Michael, nodded and ushered them in, cutting the queue. A red velvet curtain was draped elegantly across the entrance. Michael swept it back and ushered them all in. He grinned at their amazed expressions.

"Welcome to the night circus."

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Ranger turned to give his men the brief before they got in the cars.

"It'll be dark and chances are there will be a lot of kids there. Don't injure anyone unnecessarily; we don't want any law suits. Just go in, get our guys and get out. You've all got pictures of the guys we're after. Let's roll." He instructed. They all nodded and climbed in their cars. Lester was grinning; he loved the big gang busters' type of apprehension, so much more professional.

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Carmella looked around in amazement at the podiums, poles and cages. The whole club was black, with panels of deep purple velvet billowing down from the ceiling. Marilyn Manson 'Tainted Love' was blasting out of the speakers. She walked over to the bar.

"Vodka and Coke." She yelled over the music. The bar tender, who was wearing a phantom mask, nodded and handed her the drink. She handed a couple of dollars in return and walked back to her friends. Michael had gone to talk to some friends of his, who looked very shifty. After dancing on the floor for about twenty five minutes and three vodka's, Mandy and Carmella climbed up onto one of the podiums. They'd been dancing on the platform for almost ten minutes, when Carmella saw Harry stood in the corner with Michael's friends. They were hunched over, trying to be inconspicuous. Carmella frowned and hopped off the podium and followed them as they walked out into the lobby. When she finally caught up, she saw Harry smoking the fumes from a substance the other guys were holding on a bent spoon and heating with a lighter. In Miami, she'd seem kids getting completely fucked up on heroin and ending up in hospital or the mortuary. She walked over to Harry and shoved him with both hands. He stumbled and looked up at her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shouted. He blinked dozily.

"Nothing, what the fuck is wrong with you? Do you want some or something?" He murmured. Carmella shook her head.

"You're a fucking idiot. I thought you had more sense then this. Don't be so fucking stupid. We're going back in the club." She stated, grabbed his upper arm and pulled him back into the club, still fuming.

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The men got out their cars and walked towards the club entrance. The bouncers looked at them and stepped back, wise men. Ranger indicated which way they should all go. They nodded and separated, mingling with the crowd. A girl who didn't look much older then Carmella stood in front of Ranger, grinning stupidly.

"Hey big guy, want to have some fun?" She slurred. He walked around her, looking for the drug dealing scum. His radio suddenly crackled into life.

"Hey boss, we think we've got eyeball, a group of teenagers and one of our guys is with them. We're by the podiums." Tank told him. Ranger confirmed and made his way towards the podiums.

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"You're not my fucking mother Carmella, you can't control me." Harry protested.

"I refuse to watch you fuck up your life." She stated. He grinned.

"Ah, I didn't think you cared." She glared, then put her hand in his front pocket, making him grin even more. She pulled out a packet of white powder.

"You're not getting this back." She told him. He glared at her. Then they were tackled to the ground by two large men dressed in black.

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Ranger found Tank and the others watching the group from a distance. He could see a girl holding a packet of white powder to a guy. He didn't think they matched the guys suspected, but it was hard to see in the dark light. At his nod, they pushed their way through the crowd and tackled three of the guys in the group and the girl and boy they'd seen with the coke. Bobby grabbed the heroin off the girl as he held her to the floor and stuck it in his pocket. Ranger hauled the guy to his feet and looked in shock at his daughter's friend, Harry. The girl was shouting and cursing at Bobby. He pulled her to her feet and all the guys mouths dropped open.

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Carmella looked in shock at her father, then registered the look of shock and disgust on his face. Then she remembered the heroin.

"Is that yours?" Her dad growled dangerously.

"Oh shit. I can see how this may look, but I…I don't do drugs. Honestly, I don't. I…" She trailed off. She didn't want to get Harry in trouble, but her father looked murderous. She quickly shut her mouth; this was a bitch of a situation to be in. She'd just made up with Harry and really didn't want him to be arrested, but then she was also sorting things out with her dad and didn't want to jeopardize things with him. But family was forever; her dad would always forgive her. She sighed as he continued to glare.

"Yeah, it's mine." She sighed. Her dad looked murderous.

"No it's not! Carmella I appreciate it but you are not taking that wrap for this. It's mine, but I wasn't dealing." Harry shouted over the music.

"The hell it is, that was my heroin!" Dan yelled.

"No it was mine!" Mandy giggled. Ranger growled dangerously again.

"Then I have no choice. You're all under arrest." He stated. Carmella felt her mouth drop in shock. She really hadn't expected her dad to actually arrest them.

"Dad you can't, it was mine. The others are trying to cover for me." She shrieked at her father as she felt Bobby pulling a pair of cuffs onto her wrists. Her dad stared at her and then sighed.

"This is fucking unbelievable. No Bobby, leave the cuffs on. Get the boy as well. The rest of you are free to go." He said. Tank, Lester and a few other guys let go of her other friends. Carmella wiggled her shoulders.

"Hey, what about us?" She asked. Her father stared at her.

"You're still under arrest." He said blankly. Tank led the way through the club with Harry and Ranger behind him, then Carmella and Bobby and the remaining merry men. They were pushed into the back of one of her dad's SUV's and it was then that the stabbing pain really hit Carmella in the stomach, apparently being thrown to the floor and jumped on wasn't that great for her broken ribs. She winced and moaned quietly. Harry looked at in concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She shook her head and bit her lip to stop from crying out. "Is it your ribs?" He whispered. She nodded and winced again. Her dad climbed into the front seat and turned to look at them.

"Right. Which one of you is going to tell me what the fuck went on in there?" He hissed. Carmella gulped form pain and fear.

"The drugs were mine, I'd just bought them. They were just for recreational use. Carmella grabbed it off me and said I wasn't getting it back, then you guys turned up." Harry explained wearily. Ranger looked at Carmella.

"Now what's you version of events?" He asked. She sighed.

"Same as Harry's. I saw him getting the drugs and I grabbed them off him. Then you all came in." She murmured. Ranger murmured a string of obscenities under his breath in Spanish.

"Well, thanks to you our whole investigation is totally fucked up. So we need names. Who did you get the drugs off?" He asked Harry. Harry edged as far away as he could and shook his head.

"No way man, it's not worth my life." He replied nervously. Ranger grabbed him by the front of the shirt and hauled him forwards.

"Let me clear something up for you. You are in serious shit here. Now if you don't help us, I will not so much as let you look at my daughter again because I will not allow her to associate with a drugged up loser. So you have two options, help us or rot in jail and loose Carmella forever and I know how much that means to you, I can see it in your eyes." He whispered so Carmella couldn't hear. He threw Harry back onto the car seat and stared at the two teenagers. "What's it to be?"

"I don't know who they are. They go to college with Michael or something. I swear that is all I know." Carmella shrugged. Harry sighed.

"Stretch Flinster and Charlie Jenson. They're 18, they live on Fridcot Street. That's what I know." He told Ranger. Ranger nodded and undid their cuffs.

"Tank will give you both a ride home and don't think for one second that we won't be talking about this young lady." He growled at Carmella and then climbed out the car. Tank replaced him and turned the engine on. He didn't even look at Carmella for the whole drive, which meant that he was pissed at her as well. This must have been some bust. Harry mumbled goodbye when they got to his apartment and clambered out the car. Carmella hitched up her dress and climbed over into the front seat.

"I'm sorry." She said softly "If it's any constellation I'm in a rather substantial amount of pain." She smiled. Tank kept his eyes on the road, not even glancing at her. She sighed and continued "Anyone alive in there? Tank please talk to me, I can't deal with you blanking me as well as my dad." She pleaded. Still no response. She sat back and crossed her arms "Well if you're going to be a jerk about this…" Tank glared.

"It's not the fact that you screwed up the bust. Well, it's partly that, but you lied to your dad. He thought you were staying at a friends and he hates that you felt you had to lie to him." He explained.

"Ok technically, I didn't lie. I had every intention of staying over at Mandy's after the club. I just failed to mention that was where we were going first. And he would hardly have been reasonable if I had said, would he? Do you really not remember what it was like to be a 15 year old?"

"And do you really not remember the trouble and heart ache you dad went through to gain custody of you? Do you not remember everything that's happened in the past few weeks, the shooting, that intruder, the attempted rape? Do you really wonder why he worries about you? You're a beautiful girl and you flaunt the fact that you are stunning. You were completely unprotected in there and worse you were with a druggie. He has a reason to be angry Carmella. We all care about you and would hate to see you get hurt and we would also hate to see your dad going through hell as a result of your actions." Ouch. Direct hit to the heart. Carmella nodded and sniffed.

"But I don't want to live my life being scared. How many teenagers have been beaten and almost killed by their ex-boyfriends-stroke-stepfathers? How many have been almost raped twice by the same ex? How many have had an intruder break into their home, shoot their dad and beat up a friend? I just want to live and I don't want to be scared. I think it's a marvel that I still have a grip on sanity and reality but if I get wrapped in cotton wool and locked away then that fear will just grow and grow. I can't live like that." She whispered as the rolled into the garage. Tank turned off the engine and wrapped her gently into a hug.

"I know princess. But just try, don't be too rebellious. It terrifies your father." They walked into the lift and went up to the fourth floor. Tank gave her a last hug and bid her goodnight.

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I opened my eyes as I heard the bedroom door slamming. Ranger stormed in, muttering mutinously to himself. I propped myself on my elbows and blinked blearily at him.

"Ranger, what's up?" I murmured sleepily. He stopped and looked at me.

"Sorry Babe, I thought you were asleep." He said softly and pulled his shirt off.

"Was it a bad bust?" I asked, wondering what had brought on the muttering and the stomping. He gave a harsh bark of laughter and unlaced his boots.  
"You could say that, yeah. Carmella was at the club we raided. Her friends were doing heroin and she had the bag. It was a fucking disaster. I'm just grateful the police weren't there or I'd be bailing her out right now." He sighed and pulled his boots off. I crawled across the bed towards him and rubbed his shoulders. He sighed and relaxed slightly.

"Was it something I did? Is this my fault, I have a daughter going out and partying with druggies." He sighed in a defeatist tone. I kissed him on the base of the neck.

"No, Carmella is a smart kid and she makes her own decisions. None of this is your fault." I said soothingly. Ranger nodded slightly, then stood.

"I need to take a shower. Go back to sleep." He instructed. I nodded, crawled back under the covers and instantly fell asleep.

I slept till almost midday the next morning. I finally woke when Ranger walked in, fully clothed and with the look of someone who'd been awake for a good few hours. He smiled and kissed me on the top of the forehead.

"Morning babe, good sleep?" He asked, smiling slightly. I yawned and nodded, then jumped up, ran into the bathroom and threw up. I slumped back into the bedroom after washing my mouth out. Ranger looked slightly amused. I glared.

"Shut up."

"Didn't say a word babe."

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Carmella yawned, stretched and then rolled off her bed with a shriek of surprise. Her bedside clock told her it was already midday. She muttered and walked into the bathroom to discover her mascara from last night was smudged down her face. She cursed under her breath and washed her face for almost ten minutes until the mascara was gone. She was drying her face when she heard the front door of the apartment open. She pulled her bathrobe on over her pyjamas and walked out to see Tank sat on her sofa watching TV. He smiled at her when she walked in. She flopped on the couch next at him.

"Have you seen my dad this morning?" She asked after a few moments of silence. Tank nodded.

"How is he?" She questioned. Tank sighed quietly.

"Better than he was last night. He seems to have calmed down a bit. I was wondering if you had nothing better to do then you could come and help me and Les in the com room." He offered. Carmella nodded and went to change into jeans and a t shirt. They got the lift up to the fifth floor and found Bobby sleeping and Lester yawning and staring blankly at a surveillance screen. He looked up and grinned when they came in.

"Alright stoner, your dad was just looking for you." He told Carmella. She swatted him around the head and sat on the chair next to him.

"You look tired." She observed and gave Bobby a kick to wake him up.

"Well we didn't sleep much last night." Lester grumbled. They were all chatting about Christmas when Stephie walked in looking a bit peaky. Carmella smiled and gave her a finger wave. She sat on a spare chair and smiled back.

"So Carmella, do you want to tell me what happened last night?"

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I smiled at Carmella.

"So Carmella, do you want to tell me what happened last night?" I asked. She winced and opened her mouth to reply when Ranger stormed in, brandishing a blue box with 'Pregnancy Test' written on it in bold text. He slammed it on the table in front of Carmella. She looked up at him in surprise.

"What the hell is this?" he shouted. Carmella looked at him and picked up the box.

"Is that some kind of trick question?" she asked, examining the writing. He glared at her. She sighed and put the box down.

"Well, I want to say a pregnancy test, but it seems like such an obvious answer." She replied. Ranger snatched it off the table.

"A fucking pregnancy test. Would you mind telling me exactly what it was doing in your bathroom?" We all took a deep breath and stared at Carmella. She shrugged.

"I don't know. It's not mine. Maybe it's Stephie's." she suggested. I stared at her.

"Steph already knows that she's pregnant, why would she take another test?" he asked. Carmella shrugged.

"Um…to make sure." She muttered. Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Well I don't know!" she exclaimed "But it's not mine!" He sighed and sat down.

"Are you sure? Is there any chance you might be pregnant?" He asked. Carmella sighed.

"I know what you're thinking, but there is no chance at all. In order to get pregnant you have to have had sex and I haven't." She shouted indignantly. Ranger looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well how else do you explain. You're a fifteen year old girl with a pregnancy test in your bathroom. I just…flipped."

"No shit." Carmella muttered. Ella bustled in and placed a mug of coffee in front of Ranger and spotted the pregnancy test in his hand.

"Oh my, where did you find that? I've been looking for it everywhere." She exclaimed and took it from Ranger's hand.

"It was in my bathroom." Carmella told her, earning a smile.

"Yes, that would make sense. I did wonder what all the shouting was about. I got it for my niece. I'm the only one she talks to and she asked me to get it for her. Sorry if I caused any trouble!" she smiled and walked out. Carmella grinned at her father.

"Yeah I'm sorry. You don't have to look so smug." He muttered. I smiled at Carmella's victorious grin. Ranger sighed.

"You're still in trouble though. You're 15 years old Carmella, you shouldn't be going to clubs like that. I know that you weren't doing drugs but I really don't like the fact that you're hanging out with drug addicts." He stated. Carmella nodded.

"I appreciate that but I really don't think that Harry is an addict. He's just…confused." She tried to defend her friend. Ranger raised an eyebrow disbelievingly then shrugged.

"Tank, Bobby, Lester and I need to go away for a few days. We'll be back in about five days tops." He told me. I stared at him.

"Are you serious? It's Christmas in five days, you better be back before Christmas Eve or there will be hell to pay." I warned him. He nodded and walked out with the guys following him. I watched them go, then took a seat next to Carmella, ignoring the other guys in the room.

"Any idea where they're going?" I whispered. She shook her head, then she paused and grinned,

"No, but I could find out if you want…"

I sat on one of the chairs, drinking a coffee and waiting for Carmella. She'd disappeared almost half an hour leaving me with the promise that she could find her dad. She walked back in holding a black case and motioned for me to follow her into one of the individual work booths. I sat on the spare chair and watched as Carmella opened the case and pulled out a laptop. She turned to look at me.

"Ok, you need to tell me if anyone's coming because this might be a bit illegal. Right now I need you to go and distract Hal, he's watching the surveillance camera and I don't want him to see this." She instructed. I nodded and walked out.

"Hey Hal! Looking forwards to Christmas?" I asked. He swivelled around to look at me with his back to the screen. He shrugged.

"I suppose so, I get a holiday and I get to see my niece and nephew. It should be good." He said. I nodded and glanced at the screen. Carmella was wiring the laptop into the RangeMan computer mainframe.

"You're going to see your family then, where do they live?" I asked.   
"Boston. I used to live there and worked in RangeMan over there but I transferred here a couple of years ago." He told me. I nodded and carried on talking to him for a couple of minutes. Then I saw Carmella turn to the camera and give the thumbs up. She walked over to us.

"Hiya, Stephie I need your help with an assignment. Hal is it cool if I use the booth over there? I need to do some school work." She stated coolly. Hal nodded.

"Ok, that's fine." He said in approval. Carmella smiled and we walked into the booth. She looked up at me.

"What was the password when you worked here?" She asked. I shrugged.

"There wasn't one, I had limited access." I replied. Carmella sighed and looked at the screen, then she smiled and typed something in. The laptop accepted the password and within seconds, Carmella was into the RangeMan computer mainframe. I stared at her in amazement.

"How did you do that?" I asked. She grinned.

"Magic." She clicked on a load of files and studied them with interest. After almost twenty minutes she grinned.

"I've got something here, four flight tickets for today, one way so they don't know when they're coming back headed to…oh crud." She muttered. I snapped my head up.

"Where?" I asked impatiently. She grimaced.

"Tampa Bay airport, Florida." I stared at her

"What would they be going to Florida for?" I asked, dreading the answer. Carmella shrugged.

"My guess is as good as yours, but I can think of a few reasons." She murmured. I frowned. There would be hell to pay when they got back.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato! And P.S, randomly the next chapter will be Christmas!


	25. Family reunion

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

The front door was opened by a woman in her late forties. She looked slightly taken aback when she saw the men on her doorstep. One of them smiled slightly.

"I'm looking for Joanne Cervezo." He said politely. She nodded slowly.

"That's me, how can I help you?" She asked cautiously. Ranger looked at her for a few seconds before asking.

"Your son is Antonio Cervezo?" It was more of a statement. The woman nodded slowly, looking slightly scared.

"Have you seen your son lately?" Tank asked calmly. The woman shook her head, apparently having temporarily lost her voice. She cleared her throat

"I haven't seen him since before he went to jail. Why?"

"We saw your son a few weeks ago. He broke into my building, fractured my arm and knocked me out, shot my colleague and then attacked my fifteen year old daughter and my friend who is pregnant. We need to find him." Ranger growled. There was no point lying, he could see in this woman's eyes that she wanted nothing to do with her scumbag son. She bit her lip.

"Your friend…is she ok?" She whispered.

"Put it this way" Tank replied "She was having triplets. Now she's having twins." He told the woman. She sobbed quietly. Tank handed her a tissue.

"I swear I haven't heard from him in years, I thought he was still in jail. Do you have a contact number? If I hear anything I'll call you." She said earnestly. Ranger nodded and handed her a business card.

"Anything you think of, give us a call." He said. Joanne nodded and they left.

Ranger unlocked the door of the Florida RangeMan apartment. He wondered if he still needed this branch, the only reason he'd opened a Florida office was so he could visit Carmella as much as possible. It hadn't really helped. They'd been in Florida for four days now and they had nothing. The address that they'd been given for the RangeMan intruder turned out to be useless; he'd moved out months ago and hadn't left any information as to his current whereabouts. James didn't have any known associates that fitted the description Steph and Carmella had given about him. He kicked his boots off, sank down onto one of the sofas and closed his eyes. He'd head back home tomorrow in time for Christmas. His eyes snapped open. Shit, Christmas! He jumped up and ran out the door in search of shops.

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Carmella and I were eating cookies wrapping presents for Christmas day, tomorrow, when the intercom bleeped and Hal's voice filled the room.

"The guys just got back. Ranger's coming up to the apartment." He told us and disconnected. Carmella glanced up at the clock; it was three in the afternoon.

"They've been gone five days, it won't have been intimidation. They were looking for leads I'll bet. Have you packed your bag yet? We need to get going to Nanna Mañoso's in a couple of hours." She said. I nodded and indicated my travel bag. "Have you told your family you won't be joining them for dinner yet?" She asked. I froze and shook my head.

"I was thinking of doing it tonight, just running in, giving them their presents, telling them and running out again." I told her.

"Good plan." The front door opened and Ranger walked in. He didn't look angry or tired; I guess it had been a good trip. He smiled and walked over to us, ruffling Carmella's hair and kissing me lightly on the top of my head. I smiled back and pulled him down onto the floor where we were sitting.

"How was Florida?" I asked sweetly. Carmella grinned. Ranger stared at me in shock.

"How…how did you know where we were? Did Hal tell you?" He asked. I shook my head and smiled.

"That's for me to know. What exactly were you doing in Florida?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Nothing really. Just following leads." He replied. Carmella smiled victoriously.

"I told you." She said superiorly and stuck a cookie in her mouth. Ranger looked at her, frowning slightly.

"Carmella found out, didn't she?" He asked me. I smiled; I could be mysterious as well. Ranger glanced from Carmella, to me, then stood and walked into his bedroom.

"Don't forget, we need to get going in two hours." Carmella called. The bedroom door opened and Ranger looked out.

"Going where?" He asked suspiciously. Carmella rolled her eyes.

"To Nanna Mañoso's. You didn't forget did you?" Ranger looked pained.

"I didn't think we'd actually go. I tell her I'll go every year; it doesn't mean I actually will." He murmured. Carmella smiled at him.

"Well guess what? This year you are going."

We pulled up outside my house. My mom wasn't waiting for me, it wasn't six yet so she had no reason to expect me. I took a deep breath and climbed out the car, sending a final pleading look to Ranger. He grinned at me and handed me the bag of presents for my family. I took it and walked up to the front door. My Grandma opened it and looked at me suspiciously.

"What are you doing here? Why is the bounty hunter with the fine package waiting outside? Invite him in!" She instructed. I looked back at Ranger and smiled. I couldn't be that cruel…could I? Before I could work out what to say, Grandma Mazur was walking down the path towards the car. I have never seen Ranger look so scared. She opened the passenger door and leaned in to say something to him. I could see Carmella in the back shaking with silent laughter. Grandma Mazur took a step back and motioned for them to follow her. Ranger looked in pain. Carmella hopped out the car, opened the driver door and dragged him out of the car. They walked up to the front door behind Grandma. As they passed me, I heard Ranger mutter to Carmella

"Expect nothing but coal for Christmas."

Angie was working on the dining table and smiled when we walked in. Carmella sat next to her.

"Hey Angie, what are you up to?" She asked.  
"Homework." Angie replied simply. Carmella frowned slightly.

"You got homework in Christmas vacation?" she asked. That seemed a bit harsh.

"I asked for it, its fun!" She beamed. Carmella looked shocked. My mother walked in from the kitchen and looked at us suspiciously.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. I smiled and handed her the bag of presents. She opened it and looked inside, then looked at me.

"Why are you giving me these now? You can bring them tomorrow." She stated. I looked to Ranger, who seemed to be fighting off Grandma Mazur and in no situation to help me.

"Well…we're going to see Carmella's grandparents for Christmas. See you when I get back, bye!" I garbled, grabbed Carmella by the wrist and ran for the door. Ranger noticed us moving, said goodbye to Grandma Mazur and followed us. I almost wrenched the door off its hinges opening it. Carmella was already strapped in the back. Ranger ambled over and climbed in.

"Hurry up! Mom will kill me if she catches up." I squealed. Ranger turned the engine on and rolled away from the curb. Carmella leaned forwards and turned the radio on. Cheesy Christmas songs blared out from the speakers, with Carmella singing along loudly. Ranger glanced at her in the rear view and smiled slightly. We drove for about half an hour until we were just outside of Trenton and driving up a narrow road that was dense with trees on either side. There was a large wrought iron gate in the middle of the road with a numbered pad on the side post. Ranger wound down his window, leaned out and tapped a code in. The gates opened slowly and we drove up a long gravel drive. In front of us was a huge mansion, with ivy climbing up the front. Several black cars were already parked in the driveway. The car rolled to a stop and Ranger climbed out, running round to open the door for me. Carmella was already pulling our bags out of the trunk of the car. The front door had been opened by a middle aged man in a suit. I looked at him as I climbed out the car.

"That's Edward, he's the butler." Ranger told me as he took my upper arm and helped me to the ground. Carmella threw his overnight bag at him.

"Come on, we're late." She said. I grabbed my bag and we walked towards the front door. Edward nodded his head slightly and smiled at us.

"Master Ricardo, nice of you to join us." He said in a traditional English accent. He smiled at Carmella and me and then motioned for us to follow him across the huge marble entrance hall and up the massive sweeping staircase.

"You're staying in your old room Master Ricardo. I trust your lady friend will be staying in there with you. The room next to yours can be occupied by your…" He looked at Carmella, obviously not having a clue as to who she was. Ranger smiled.

"My daughter." He informed Edward. Edward looked shocked, but nodded, smiled and took his leave, pausing to call to us  
"Your family are in the parlour Master Ricardo; I shall keep your arrival hush hush." He smiled and walked back down the staircase. We walked down a long landing and finally stopped outside two large oak doors. Ranger opened one of the doors for me. I walked in and froze. The room was huge with the biggest bed I've ever seen in my life in the middle. The walls were painted white and the bed sheets were grey silk. I squealed excitedly and hugged Ranger. He smiled at me.

"Like it, Babe?" He asked. I nodded and jumped up and down with excitement. There was a knock on the door and Carmella stuck her head in.

"Come on folks, let's go meet the family." She instructed. We followed her back down the stairs and across the hall. There were large oak double doors at the end of the hallway which we stopped outside. Ranger appeared to be taking deep breaths. Then he stepped forwards and pulled the doors open. We walked into the room and weren't noticed at first, which was not surprising as there were countless adults and children milling around. Suddenly one of the kids pointed at Ranger and shouted "Look, its uncle Ricardo!" All the children shrieked and ran at us, latching themselves onto Ranger while Carmella laughed hysterically. When the children finally backed off, a woman around the same age as Ranger stepped forwards and stared into his eyes.

"How many years has it been Ric?" She whispered, before bursting into tears and wrapping her arms around his neck. Ranger pulled her into a huge bear hug.

"I'm sorry Cee-Cee but-"  
"I know, something came up. Every year for four years." She whispered.

"Four years? Ha, you got it lucky!" Carmella grinned. The woman stepped back from Ranger and stared at Carmella.

"Um…who are you?" she asked. Carmella sighed.

"Honestly, you don't see someone for nearly eight years and they totally forget you. I thought better of you Aunt Celia." Celia looked at her for a few more seconds, then shrieked and pulled Carmella into a hug.

"Oh my goodness, little Carmella! Oh but you're all grown up and so pretty! This is…but what…where's your mother?" Celia asked. Carmella shrugged.

"Burning in hell for all I care, it doesn't matter. I live with dad now, he got custody." The whole room, who had been silently listening to the conversation, all shrieked excitedly and started jumping up and down and hugging each other. A woman in her mid fifties walked over to us and rested an arm on Carmella's arm.

"Welcome home chica, we missed you." Carmella hugged the woman.

"I missed you too abuella." She whispered. The woman then turned and smacked Ranger around the head.

"You! What the hell where you thinking? Not telling us about little Carmella, were you going to leave it another four years before contacting us?" Ranger scowled slightly, prompting the woman to give him another smack.

"Don't you give me that scowl young man, you are already in my bad books and you haven't introduced your lady friend yet." She stated, looking at me. Ranger sighed and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Madre this is Stephanie Plum, she's a friend of mine." He told his mother. She nodded and smiled at me.

"You're pregnant." She said calmly. My eyes widened and I looked down at my stomach. It really was starting to show. I looked back up to Ranger's mother and smiled sheepishly. She looked at Ranger.

"Are you getting married?" She asked sharply. He shook his head and received another smack around the head. She pointed a finger sharply at him.

"You better have a good reason for not marrying her." She hissed dangerously. Carmella seemed to be enjoying this. Ranger sighed.

"I told you Madre, Steph is just a friend." He replied, slowly loosing his cool. His mother looked at me, then to my stomach, then opened her mouth to say something but Carmella cleared her throat and smiled.

"So how is everyone? More to the point, who is everyone? Because I have a limited memory!" She grinned. Ranger's mother gave him a final glare and then started leading Carmella around the large room, introducing her to various people. Celia walked back over and smiled.

"Stephanie Plum, I thought you looked familiar. I've read all about you in the newspaper." She grinned. I smiled back, uncomfortably.

"I didn't mean to blow up the funeral home, I swear." I said defensively. She laughed and smiled at me.

"I'll take your word for it."

We were sat in the largest dinning room I'd ever set foot in eating dinner a couple of hours later, when the door opened and Edward walked in. He bowed slightly then addressed Ranger's mother.

"Mr Mañoso has arrived." He said. I looked at Ranger, confused. He smiled slightly.

"There are quite a lot of 'Mr Mañoso's in the family babe." A man in his late fifties walked in, smiling slightly. I could tell straight away that this was Ranger's dad, they looked so similar, only his dad looked like he laughed more. He looked around the table, nodding and smiling at everyone. When his eyes settled on Ranger, they widened in obvious surprise.

"Well if it isn't the devil himself…Ricardo Carlos, long time no see." He smiled affectionately at his son. Ranger stood and walked up to his father, wrapping his arms around him.

"Hola Papa, good to see you're still alive." He smiled, then took a step back. His dad nodded to him, still smiling, then looked at Carmella. He stared at her for a few seconds, then blinked, his eyes filling with tears.

"My God…little Carmella. It can only be you…" He gasped. Carmella jumped up and ran to her Grandfather.

"Hola Abuello." He whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"My goodness, you're quite the young lady now, aren't you? I'll bet you have to fight the young lads off with a stick." He grinned.

"No, dad does all the fighting for me!" she laughed. They all sat back down and we carried on eating, chatting casually as we did. As we were nearing the end of the evening, Edward walked in again, smiling apologetically.

"There is another arrival, sir." He addressed Ranger's father. Mr Mañoso nodded and Edward motioned for someone to walk in. Enrique Mañoso, Ranger's treacherous cousin, walked in followed by Eva, James and a woman in her sixties. We all stared at them in shock. Carmella found her voice first.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" She hissed. Eva smiled serenely.

"Why, I just came to spend Christmas with my daughter." She replied sweetly. Ranger, Carmella and I all stared at them in complete disbelief. James smiled and picked a piece of bread off of Carmella's plate.

"Thanks little angel, I'm starving." Carmella jumped out of her chair and smashed James around the face with her fist. He fell backwards into Eva and stared up at Carmella from the floor with a look of shock, pain and disbelief on his face. She smiled sadistically.

"I have waited so long to do that." She hissed. James scrambled back to his feet, while Eva and the older woman shrieked at Carmella in Spanish. Ranger stood and went to Carmella's side.

"Go away Eva, you're not wanted here. Take your filthy husband and your mother with you and go." He instructed calmly. The older woman glared at him.

"How dare you talk to my daughter like that! You are a disgrace Ricardo, you and that little whore-"  
"It is not my daughter who is the whore, Sheila; it is yours!" Ranger shouted. The room fell into a shocked silence. I'd never heard Ranger shout like that before. He sounded so furious. Sheila was glaring at him with a look that Grandma Bella would have been proud of. Ranger's father stood and walked to Sheila.

"I think you should leave Sheila. I apologize for this; I will have words with my Granddaughter and my son. Maybe we will see you soon." He said calmly. Sheila looked at him, then nodded stiffly and walked out, motioning for Eva and James to follow her. Enrique was still stood in the corner looking smug. Ranger walked up to him.

"You need to leave, now." He commanded. Enrique scoffed.

"I'm family Ricardo, I was invited. You haven't been to a family meeting for four years, what do you think gives you the right to tell me to leave?" He asked.

"You're a traitor Enrique, you are a back stabbing traitor!" Carmella shrieked. Her grandfather turned to her.

"Carmella, please do not be so rude. Enrique is family-" He tried to reason.

"No, I disown him; he is not related to me!" She screamed and ran to her father's side. Mrs Mañoso sighed and buried her face in her hands. Enrique glared at Carmella.

"I know you're mentally unstable, girl, but you should watch your mouth." He growled.

"¡Va la cogida usted misimo!" Carmella shrieked and launched herself forwards, flailing her arms in an attempt to scratch his face, but was stopped by Ranger grabbing her round the waist and pulling her backwards.

"Carmella, leave it! He's not worth it!" He said. His father walked up to them.

"Young lady, would you care to explain yourself?" He said, in the same dangerously calm voice Ranger used in anger.

"He represented madre and James in the custody battle! He told the judge that I was mentally unstable and that dad wasn't fit to look after me!" She screamed as she struggled against her father's grip. Mr Mañoso's eyes darkened and he looked at Enrique. Enrique, sensing the brewing anger, had started to edge backwards. I was considering hiding under the table.

"Is that true" Carmella's Grandfather asked. Enrique gulped and walked slowly towards the door.

"You have to understand Uncle, I needed the money. It was nothing personal-"  
"That's a load of crap! He was jealous of Dad and couldn't wait to face him!" Carmella shouted. Enrique gulped again, then bolted and ran out the door. Ranger slowly released Carmella. She smoothed her top and sat back down.

"Could someone please pass the water?"

I woke up the next morning to the sound of excited screaming and footsteps running up and down the corridor. The door swung in and seven small children stampeded in and jumped up onto the bed. They started kicking Ranger in the face and pulling his hair.

"Come on Uncle Ric, wake up! It's Christmas!" A mini-Carmella squealed. Ranger growled and swatted at the small child. The door opened again and Carmella skipped in, shooing all the small children out of her way and out of the room.

"Merry Christmas!" She giggled, throwing a large carrier bag, presumably full of presents, onto the bed and then jumped up onto the bed and sat in the space between me and Ranger. She opened the bag and threw a present at me. I ripped the paper off and pulled out a beautiful black silk camisole.

"It's for after you have the baby, you can look pretty and be happy!" She giggled. I smiled and then caught the second present she threw at me. It was a beautiful gold crucifix necklace. I looked at Carmella in amazement.

"This must have cost…thank you so much Carmella!" I smiled and gave her a hug. She then gave Ranger a pair of Oakley's sunglasses and an expensive looking black shirt. I gave Carmella a long, tiered black skirt with a number of petticoats and a amethyst choker. She smiled, gave me a hug and then looked at Ranger. He gave her a beautiful Gucci watch with a silver link strap, which she pulled on and admired. Then he pulled out a large brown envelope and handed it to her.

"Oops, I forgot about cards!" She said apologetically. Ranger just smiled. She opened the envelope and tipped it up. A black key ring with small purple gems on it and a house key attached fell out. Carmella looked confused as she pulled a number of papers out. On the cover of the booklet was a large colour photo of what was, in effect, the most amazing mansion I'd ever seen.

"That's our new house Carmella. Do you like it?" Ranger asked. Carmella shrieked and threw her arms around his neck.

"It's amazing; it is beyond words I love it!" She laughed. I gave Ranger a gun belt and watch, while he gave me a beautiful bracelet and a pair of matching earrings. We joined the family downstairs where more presents were exchanged. The Christmas dinner was served at 2 in the afternoon and was delicious. The whole family were playing Charades after, when Ranger stood and announced that we were leaving. His parents bid us farewell and smothered Carmella with kisses. We climbed into the car and drove back down the driveway. As we drove back through Trenton, I realised we were going the wrong way for the RangeMan building. I looked quizzically at Ranger, but he just smiled. We drove out of the town and down a secluded lane that I'd never been down before. Halfway down the road, there was a large gate. Ranger wound down his window and tapped a code into the keypad attached to the gate post.

"The code to get in is Carmella's birthday." He told us. Carmella nodded, but I had no idea when Carmella's birthday was.

"20th of May." She mouthed at me. I nodded as we drove up the remaining half of the road. The road widened and Carmella gasped as we looked up at the house that had been illustrated on her Christmas card. She jumped out the car before it had stopped properly and ran up to the front door, pulling her key out of her shoulder bag as she ran. Ranger parked the car and then we joined Carmella as she unlocked the door. There was a huge chandelier in the entrance hall and the floor was covered in marble tiles. Carmella screamed and jumped up and down with excitement. We all went up the staircase to the first landing where Ranger led us to a room in the middle of the corridor with a large purple bow stuck to the door.

"Carmella, this is you corridor. There is a bathroom, a games room, a study and four guest rooms which your friends can stay in." Ranger told her "And this is your bedroom" He indicated the door with the bow. She screamed again and pushed the door open. The walls were painted lilac and in the middle of the room there was a huge antique four-poster bed with purple velvet drapes. All the furniture was antique, matching the bed. She opened the wardrobe and saw all her clothes already hung up. She pulled me and Ranger into a hug, sobbing with happiness.

"Merry Christmas Carmella." Ranger whispered.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Sorry this took so long to update but I was on holiday! I hope you're all having a good summer and I apologize for the randomness of this chapter, but I had the dreaded writers block! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!

P.S Va la cogida usted misimo means go fck yourself.


	26. Happy New Year

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

Carmella yawned and climbed out of her enormous bed. It was the 31st of December and she had a party to organise. It was a combined housewarming and New Year party, so it had to be perfect. Freya, Oli and her friends from Florida had all come up and her friends from school were all invited including, much to her father's disgust, Anthony Morelli. He was bringing a couple of his friends and all the drama class except, of course, the 'beautiful people'. Her father had the RangeMan staff all coming as well and Ella was helping to cater for the party. She padded out of her room and knocked on the guest room next door. Freya stuck her head out and grinned.

"Morning Caramel, come in." She smiled and opened the door properly. Carmella walked in and saw Oli in the bed already.

"Honestly you two, what if my dad had come in?" Carmella asked, knowing full well that Oli had spent the night in Freya's bed. Freya laughed as the two girls climbed into the bed.

"We all know your dad wouldn't have come in to my room Caramel, that's a stupid warning." She grinned. Carmella rolled her eyes and smiled. She missed her Florida friends badly and wished they could move up to Trenton, but she knew they all loved Florida too much. They chatted for an hour before going downstairs to get some breakfast. Ella smiled at them as they walked into the huge, modern kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar. She put various plates of bread, toast and cream cheeses along with a pot of coffee and some frothy milk. Carmella poured herself a large mug of milky coffee, piling it high with the froth.

"Are you not eating, Carmella?" Ella asked with concern in her voice. Carmella shook her head.

"Not yet, I need a mug of coffee before I'm even slightly human." She smiled. Oli had piled his plate high with bread, toast and cheese. Freya was eating cheese on toast. Ella put a bowl of mixed berries in front of Carmella.

"Your father's orders, he thinks you're not eating properly." She explained. Carmella sighed and poked the berries with her spoon. Then she shrugged and ate a mouthful. Oli was sat with a piece of toast in his mouth, laughing at her healthy breakfast. Carmella glared and threw a berry at him.

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I woke up and smiled when I noticed Ranger was still asleep. Sleep was catching up with him. I climbed out of the bed and walked into the en suite bathroom. A few minutes later, Ranger walked in.

"Morning Babe." He dropped a kiss casually on my forehead. I smiled.

"Ready for tonight?" I asked. He laughed.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I had a quick shower, then went and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top. Ranger walked out of the bathroom wearing black combats and a t shirt. Like he'd wear anything else.

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Carmella, Freya, Oli and her other friends from Florida, Jasmine, Lilly, Freddy and Carl were sat in the games room. Sammy had tried to get an invitation but had failed miserably. Freya and Oli were sat in the corner making out, while the others watched 'The Ring'. Jasmine screamed loudly as the horse fell off the ship on screen, causing Oli and Freya to jump apart. Carmella laughed, she hadn't realised how much she'd missed hanging out with her old friends.

"Hey Carmella, I've never properly thanked you for taking the wrap for the whole toilet blowing up thing." Jasmine smiled appreciatively. Carmella waved a hand dismissively.

"It was nothing, seriously. I was leaving anyway." Jasmine smiled and gave her a quick hug. Just then, the phone started ringing as the film ended. The girls all shrieked and hid under cushions. Freddy rolled his eyes and picked the phone up.

"Hell, Mañoso residence…um, yeah she's here." He held the phone towards Carmella, covering the mouthpiece with his hand, his eyes wide with fear. "It's for you Caramel, I don't know who it is, it's some girl." He whispered. Carmella thought of the psycho child serial killer on the film they'd just watched. She took the phone and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Carmella? Is seven ok?" A female voice whispered back. Carmella whimpered slightly.

"Who is this?" She squeaked. The person coughed.

"Dude, it's me, Mandy. Is seven ok to come over?" Mandy asked with a clear throat. Carmella heaved a sigh of relief and threw a cushion at Freddy, who was shaking with silent laughter.

"Sure Mand, that's fine. I'll see you later." Carmella hung up and put the phone back on the base. There was a knock on the door and Ella walked in brandishing a tray of various drinks and sandwiches. Carmella smiled appreciatively.

"I thought you might be hungry by now. Your father said to tell you his guests are arriving around seven and that he will be keeping an eye on you. Excess drinking will not be accepted." Ella told them sternly, but with a slight twinkle in her eye that suggested she knew it was unrealistic to ask teenagers not to drink at a party. Carmella laughed and nodded. The others all thanked Ella and she left. At four, they all went down to the main room downstairs to start the decorating. Freya and Oli were just in the corner making out. Jasmine and Lilly were making paper chains, while Freddy and Carl were tying Carmella up in streamers. She shrieked abuse at them as Freddy shouted.

"She can't move, quick let's push her down or hang her of a light fixture or something!" Carl laughed and the two guys picked her up and hoisted her above their heads. She wiggled vigorously and shouted but no one helped. They were all too busy laughing or making out. Carl shut the door and Freddy hung Carmella on the door peg by the neck of her jumper.

"You guys are so unfunny!" She shrieked. Freddy grinned.

"Be nicer Caramel, or we'll hang you up by your underwear like we used to do at middle school!" He threatened and then stuck a piece of paper in her mouth. Carmella glared at him. The door swung open and Stephie walked in.

"Have any of you seen Carmella?" She asked, not seeing the teenager hanging from the back of the door. She let out a squeal and wiggled a bit. Stephie closed the door and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What are you doing?" She asked, pulling the paper out of Carmella's mouth.

"Y'know, just hanging around." Carmella muttered, causing Freddy and Carl to start laughing hysterically. Ranger walked in, took one look at his daughter and walked out again. Carmella smiled. Freddy walked over and lifted her off the peg, while Carl started to rip the paper off her. Steph laughed.

"Listen, your dad wanted a quick word with us, something to do with work. Come on." She instructed. Carmella nodded and followed her out the room and into her dad's office. He was sat at hid large mahogany desk with Tank leaning against a wall. Carmella and Steph took a seat opposite Ranger.

"Nice desk." Carmella complimented. Her dad smiled.

"I need a quick word about a job we're doing in four days. Carmella, I need you to do some background research. His name is Steven Jenkins and he was arrested for…for rape of a fourteen year old." He told them with his smile faltering. Carmella nodded and jotted down his name on the small notepad she carried in her pocket. Ranger nodded, then looked at Steph.

"I'll need you to act as a distraction again, if that's ok." He asked. Steph looked at him as though he were insane.

"Ranger, I am almost four months pregnant. I'm hardly at my most attractive, especially to a child rapist." She pointed out. Carmella gave a snort of laughter. Ranger frowned slightly.

"I forgot, shit I don't know…I could ask Jeanne Ellen-"

"I'll do it!" Carmella cut in abruptly. Ranger and Tank both stared at her. Tank shrugged.

"Well, she could man, I mean-" He started.

"No way. No fucking way! She's only fifteen, he's a rapist. It's not safe." Ranger said adamantly. Carmella rolled her eyes.

"I'll have a wire and a gun. I'll be fine and I will expect to be paid. I'm more likely to bait him if I'm younger. You need to think about this as a bounty hunter and not as a father. You know it makes sense. And I'll expect 50 of the reward or bond or whatever you call it." She smiled, stood and walked back into the newly decorated lounge where her friends were playing chase. She rolled her eyes as Freddy ran and hid behind her.

"Caramel, you need to protect me! Carl's got a-ahhh Carl you bastard!" He yelled as Carl shot them with a water gun. After having a small water fight out in the garden, they all trudged back inside to get ready for the party. Carmella settled on the skirt and necklace Stephie had given her for Christmas and the earrings and gloves she'd got off Mandy and Caz. On top, she wore a tight black corset that made breathing difficult. She was pulling on the gloves when Freddy burst in wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She raised an eyebrow.

"It is polite to knock." She mock scolded. He grinned and walked over to her dresser where he started to rifle through her jewellery.

"You've got some nice stuff here Caramel." He said admiringly, picking up the bracelet that Anthony had given her "Why don't you wear this?" He asked. Carmella indicated the gloves, but Freddy just shrugged and fastened the bracelet around her right wrist.

"I like it, where'd you get it?" He asked. Carmella smiled.

"It was a present from Anthony." She told him. He nodded and flopped onto her bed.

"You're not short of admirers, are you?" He laughed. Carmella grinned and sat next to him.

"I can't help being attractive Freddy; unlike you I am naturally beautiful." She giggled. Freddy raised an eyebrow, then started tickling her. She shrieked with laughter and tried to roll away, when the bedroom door opened. Carmella looked to see who it was and almost rolled off the bed. Freddy grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her as Harry walked in. He looked at the pair in surprise and then started to back out.

"Sorry, I didn't realise-" He started

"No, come in. Freddy was just trying to beat me up, malicious little bastard." Carmella cut in and pushed herself up. Harry smiled nervously and sat on the edge of the bed.

"The others are just chatting to Oli and Freya." He told her. She nodded and introduced him to Freddy, who grinned and shook his hand enthusiastically. They chatted for almost half an hour when the others burst in, a mixture of swishing black clothes and skimpy bright ones traditional to Miami. At seven thirty, they moved downstairs where the adults were already chatting and drinking. Carmella was dancing with Freddy, when she heard the doorbell. She pulled away from her friend and ran to the front door, where she saw Anthony, the drama class from school and a few of his football friends. He grinned widely and embraced Carmella. She smiled.

"Glad you could make it, come on through. We have to spend some time socialising with the oldies but then we should be free to roam without parental supervision!" She told them. They cheered and followed her through to the party. After spending nearly an hour dancing with her friends, her dad and the RangeMan employees, Carmella indicated for her guests to follow her up to her wing. They all crammed into the games room, where someone put a Green Day CD on. After spending half an hour dancing madly, Freddy held up an empty Archers bottle.

"Who's up for spin the bottle?" He asked, grinning widely. All of the Florida gang cheered and the goths, to Carmella's surprise, shrugged and nodded. They all sat in a circle on the floor. Freddy spun it first, where it landed right on Carmella. He grinned and crawled towards her.

"Close your eyes Caramel, I promise this won't hurt!" He laughed and pressed his lips to Carmella's. Carmella spun and kissed one of Anthony's football friends. The game continued for nearly an hour, when Carmella spun and watched the bottle stop, pointing at Harry. He stared in shock at the bottle, then up at Carmella. She smiled almost apologetically. They walked in their knees towards each other, meeting in the centre of the circle. He wrapped an arm around her waist, then lowered his mouth to hers. Carmella almost melted as she felt his tongue push into her mouth. Her breath caught in her throat as she massaged his tongue with hers. Her arms rested around his neck, while he ran a hand through her hair.

"Um guys…it's only supposed to be five seconds…" Dan said. Freddy laughed loudly, walked over and tapped Carmella on the head.

"You want to save some for the rest of us Caramel?" He asked, grinning. Reluctantly, Carmella and Harry drew apart and sat back in their seats. Anthony looked at Carmella and winked unsubtly. She felt her cheeks flush furiously and tried to avoid eye contact with everyone, failing to notice the murderous glare Meredith was sending her.

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I smiled happily as Ranger wrapped an arm around my waist, gently forcing me to dance with him or at least to sway rhythmically in time to the music. He glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"One hour till midnight babe." He stated. I nodded and smiled as I watched Lester and Bobby trying miserably to start a conga line. I looked around the room and saw that Carmella still hadn't reappeared. I pulled away from Ranger.

"I'm just going to talk to Carmella, I'll be back soon." I told him. He nodded and started dancing with his sister in law who seemed all too happy to fill my place.

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Carmella checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror and wiped the smudged eyeliner from under her eyes. She was pulling a hairbrush through her hair when the bathroom door opened and Meredith stormed in. She glared at Carmella.

"You have no idea what you're getting into." She hissed. Carmella raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"Oh? Then please enlighten me." She muttered in a bored tone.

"Harry. I know you want him and that you'll get him if you put your mind to it. I love him and I want to see him happy but you…you'll just hurt him because you don't understand him. You don't know him." Meredith said, still glaring.

"I know him well enough." Carmella replied coolly.

"Really? So I guess you know he's in counselling for alcohol abuse. I suppose you're fully aware that he's been smoking since he was eleven years old because his dad left the family and went to live with his second family in England. And of course, you'll know that he's been smoking pot for a year." She spat vindictively. Carmella felt her mouth drop in shock. She hadn't known any of that and she was hurt that she'd had to find it out from Meredith as oppose to Harry himself. She shrugged and put down her hairbrush, then pushed past Meredith out into the hall. The girl walked out behind her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her round to face her.

"Leave him alone! I'm warning you-" Meredith started, but was cut off by a call

"Carmella, I need a word." They both turned and saw Steph stood at the end of the landing. Carmella nodded and pulled away from Meredith, following Stephie into her bedroom.

"What's up?" She asked. Steph smiled and sat on the large gothic bed.

"Nothing, that just looked like a conversation you'd rather not be having." Carmella grinned appreciatively and sat next to her.

"It's nearly midnight; I thought you and your friends might come downstairs and bring in the New Year with us." Steph said. Carmella nodded.

"We'll be down soon." She promised. Steph nodded and walked back downstairs while Carmella rejoined the others in the games room. Harry smiled up at her and she sat in the small space next to him.

"Dad says it's almost midnight so we should head downstairs soon." She announced. Everyone nodded and mumbled in agreement. Meredith was sat opposite her, glaring darkly. They chatted for a bit longer, until Anthony stood up.

"Right then troops; let's head downstairs by the right quick march." He commanded. Carmella laughed and led her friends back down the stairs and back into the main room. Bobby swooped down on them, grinning.

"Hey there Batgirl, almost New Year, are you gonna give me a kiss when the lights go out?" Lester walked over and dragged the obviously drunk Bobby away. Carmella showed her guests the champagne table and picked up a glass herself. She could see her cousin Leah dancing with Junior, which brought a smile to her face. Her Aunt Celia was flirting shamelessly with Lester, while her husband was slumped on a chair in the corner. Anthony took her glass out of her hand, set it down on the table and pulled her into the middle of the room. They danced for two songs before separating to go and socialise. Carmella walked over to Harry and smiled. He was about to say something, when her father stood on a chair and cleared his throat.

"If I could have your attention please, it's almost time for the new year countdown!" Everyone cheered in a very drunken fashion. He laughed and continued "So then all together now, 10, 9…" He jumped down off the chair and stood next to Steph while everyone started chanting the seconds away to the New Year. At two all the lights went out and at one, Carmella felt someone grab her by the waist, pull her closer and kiss her as everyone around them shouted 'Happy New Year!' The lights all flashed back on and Harry released Carmella and smiled at her.

"Happy New Year Princess." He smiled. Carmella grinned back and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Happy New Year."

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I smiled as Ranger pulled me into a long kiss. The lights flickered back on and he straightened up, smiling.

"Happy New year, babe." He said as he brushed another kiss across my neck.

"Same to you Batman." I replied. Carmella walked over with Harry loitering behind her. Ranger pulled her into a hug and wished her a happy new year. She grinned.

"It would be hard pressed to be worse then last year!" She laughed. Ranger smiled at her and kissed lightly on the forehead. She gave me a quick hug before disappearing with Harry and her friends back upstairs. We both watched her go as she skipped across the hall, laughing and spinning round.  
"She's a great kid." I said admiringly "She's a real credit to you." I told Ranger and he smiled appreciatively.

"I can't take much of the credit there, she practically raised herself. But you're right, she's a fantastic girl. I'm proud of her." He nodded. Tank and Bobby sidled over to us, smiling shiftily. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. Bobby chuckled.

"Hey Ranger, check out your sister." He grinned and nodded in the direction of the door. Celia was there, with Lester backed against a wall kissing him passionately. Her husband was unconscious in a chair. Ranger rolled his eyes.

"She's married." He muttered to no one in particular.

"I don't think Lester minds." Tank shrugged, as if that was the problem. As we watched, Celia pulled away and grinned. Lester wrapped an arm around her waist, smacked her lightly on the ass and kissed her again. Tank and Bobby burst out in hysterical laughter. Tank swatted Bobby playfully on the shoulder, sending him flying across the room and into the opposite wall. This just made Tank laugh harder. I tried hard to keep from bursting into laughter as well because Ranger did not look amused with the situation. Deep down he was probably laughing as well. Deep deep deep down.

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Carmella closed her bedroom door behind her and looked at Harry, who had already climbed onto her bed and was resting against the headboard. She climbed on next to him and smiled. They sat in silence for a while until he said.

"I'm an awful boyfriend." Carmella looked at him quizzically as he continued "I mean truly awful. I never answer my phone, I'm always late if I actually turn up, I won't return calls, I smoke and I drink excessively." He finished. Carmella shrugged.

"I don't care." She said simply. Then she leaned over and kissed him. He wrapped and arm around her shoulders and pulled her on top of him. They finally pulled away and he looked up at her.

"I mean it." He said earnestly "I'm truly awful." Carmella smiled.

"So I'll keep calling till you answer, I'll wait for you and I'll hide your cigarettes and your alcohol. We can make this work." She told him. He grinned and pulled her to him again.

"You know what?" He said as he ran a hand up her back and planted kisses on her neck "I think I love you." He told her. She smiled and pressed a kiss on his forehead.

"Good." She whispered.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I hope this was ok, and I think Carmella and Harry make a cute couple. Dysfunctional but cute! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	27. Loose the socks

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

I looked at the page of information I'd just found on Steven Jenkins, trying to pick out every single small detail that could possibly help Carmella in the pick up tonight. This guy was sick. I found it unbelievable that this guy could actually rape a child. I couldn't dwell on that right now. In two hours, she'd be trying to bait him and we couldn't miss anything that could put her at risk. I sighed and looked up as the door opened. Carmella strutted in wearing thigh high leather boots, a tiny black mini skirt, a tight slightly see through white shirt and a black bra. She spun around with her curled hair flying out around her face.

"What about this?" She asked. I looked at her and shook my head.

"No, you need to look young. No make up, no see through clothes and…just get changed before your father sees you." I instructed. She grinned and flounced out the room. Tank walked into the office just after she'd left with a look of shock on his face.

"Was that Carmella or a prostitute?" He asked. I laughed.

"She's trying out some outfits for tonight." I explained. He looked stunned.

"Where did she find those clothes?" He asked in shock. I shrugged.

"The trash?" I suggested. He grinned and handed me a cup of tea. I sniffed it suspiciously and was hit with the smell of herbs.

"Where's the coffee?" I asked. He shrugged.

"That's better for you in your state. You've still got five months to go so ease of the caffeine." He instructed. I stuck my tongue out at him when the door opened and Carmella skipped in.

"Oh dear Lord." Tank groaned. She was wearing over the knee socks, a plaid skirt and a white shirt. Her hair was up in pigtails and she had a lollypop in her mouth. She did a little skipping turn and grinned.

"Lose the socks and just tie your hair in a pony tail or leave it down, then that'll be fine. Do you have any wedge sandals?" I asked her. She nodded and skipped back out the door. When she re appeared, she had her hair down, socks gone and had strapped her feet into a pair of black wedge sandals. She was still sucking the lollypop. She'd also pulled a fitted black blazer over her shirt. Her father walked in behind her and his eyes widened in shock when he saw his daughter. He chose not to comment and walked over to me. He took the paper out of my hand and glanced over it. Then he looked at Carmella.

"Are you still sure you want to do this?" He asked. She nodded and took out the lollypop. He nodded, not looking too pleased. It was too late to do anything about it now; Jenkins was going to be in his regular bar in just over an hour and we needed to get him before he could hurt anyone else. Junior and Bobby walked in looking less happy than usual. They nodded curtly at me and Ranger. Junior was holding a small black case which he placed on the desk in front of me. I looked at it questioningly. He opened it and pulled out a wire.

"Carmella you need to put this on so we can keep track of you." He said, clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably from side to side. Ranger frowned.

"Ok, where does it go?" She asked innocently. Junior blushed slightly. Tank started ushering everyone out.

"Come on; let's go so Carmella can get wired up." He said. Ranger was reluctant to move.

"Can't Steph-" He tried to suggest, but Tank bodily pushed him from the room. I grinned and followed, leaving Junior and Carmella.

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Carmella smiled at Junior as he prepared the wire. He turned to her and cleared his throat.

"Can you unbutton your shirt please?" He stated more then asked. She looked shocked "Um, for the wire " He hastily explained "It's the best place to conceal it."  
"Oh. Sure." Carmella nodded and swiftly unbuttoned her shirt. Junior pressed the tiny microphone to her bra crossing. He quickly taped over the wire to conceal it and Carmella buttoned her shirt back up. She smiled at him again and then let the others back in. Her father ran over all the details for about the millionth time. She nodded and said 'hmm' in all the right places which seemed to satisfy him.

"And finally you must not act like you recognize any of us in there Carmella; that could blow the whole thing." He said finally. She nodded again and took a deep breath.

"Right then" Tank said in a dominating tone "Let's rock."

They drove to the bar in silence, Carmella in a car with her dad and Tank with Bobby, Lester and Junior following. Stephie was feeling nauseous and had decided to stay at home. She knew the bar; loads of kids in her grade went there because they were uncaring about age, just as long as they made a profit. Her dad pulled over about half a block from the bar and turned in his seat to look at her. She was studying the mug shot of Jenkins, making sure she was familiar with every line and contour of his face. When she was satisfied, she put it down and looked at her father.

"It's not too late to pull out." He told her. She shook her head.

"I'm not pulling out." She told him. He nodded and sighed.

"Ok, speak loudly and clearly. Just go in and try to bring him out the front as peacefully as possible." She nodded, kissed him lightly on the forehead and hopped out the car, pulling her purse onto her shoulder and subtly feeling the contents. One can of pepper spray, a taser, cuffs and a gun. The gun was a very last resort, one her dad didn't know about. Tank had given it to her to ensure she'd be safe but she wasn't supposed to use it since she had no license to carry at all, let alone carry concealed. She sashayed down the street and into the smoky little bar at the end. She instantly spotted Steven at the bar, drinking a beer. She walked passed him and stumbled, grabbing his shoulder for support.

"Oh I am so sorry, I'm so clumsy! I just cannot walk in these shoes, but I don't think it'd be appropriate to walk around here barefoot." She laughed sweetly and smiled. Jenkins grinned and steadied her.

"No problem. Can I get you a drink?" He offered. She pouted slightly and nodded.

"I think that'd be ok. I'll have a vodka and coke." She ordered and hopped into the bar stool next to him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a bit young?" He asked when the bartender had shuffled off to get her drink. She pushed a finger to her lips and whispered

"What daddy doesn't know won't hurt him." She finished with a smile. He grinned again and nodded.

"I'm Steve." He told her and offered his hand. She shook it.

"I'm Harriet. Nice to meet you, Steve." She said. He looked like he was about to wet his pants with joy. Sick creep. The bartender gave her the drink and took the money off Jenkins. Carmella drank almost half of it in one go, earning her another raised eyebrow from Steve.

"Bad day?" He asked. She laughed lightly.

"Something like that." He was still making conversation, still flirting even though he'd picked up straight away that she was under age. Horrible evil bastard. He started rambling about his job, while she sipped her drink and made sympathetic noises. Then she crossed her arms just under her breasts, causing maximum cleavage and giving the desired effect on Jenkins. His mouth dropped and he focused his vision on her cleavage, still valiantly trying to make conversation with her breasts, but stuttering madly. She wondered if she should tell him they wouldn't answer but he seemed to be enjoying himself. Repulsive perverted asshole. After another ten minutes of mind numbingly boring conversation, she had finished her drink and flipped her hair flirtatiously.

"Hey, do you maybe want to go somewhere a bit quieter?" She suggested. His eyes glazed over and he nodded manically. They stood and he started to lead her out the bar but to the back door.

"We're going out the back?" Carmella asked, hoping it was loud enough to be picked up on the wire, but as she said it some guy next to them fell loudly off his stool, yelling as he went. Steven nodded and continued to guide her out of the bar and into a small alley out the back. There was no one here waiting for them. It wasn't logical; they hadn't even been aware the back door was open to customers.

"Woah it's so much quieter out here isn't it?" Carmella loudly "I can't believe how clear the sky is." She said, glancing up to make her point. That would tell them that she was outside and they'd see she wasn't out front. Jenkins pushed her against the alley wall and pressed his mouth against hers. She gave a shriek of surprise and kept her eyes open. He ran a hand up her thigh and tried to pull down her panties. She let out a muffled shriek and pushed him away.

"Hey get off me; that is too much too soon!" She yelled indignantly. Steven glared and shoved her so her head hit against the wall. She pushed a hand into her bag and groped around for something to defend herself with. Pepper spray meant he could still thrash around and there was the risk it might blow back at her in this confined space. The taser would take too long to set up. That left the gun. She pulled it out, took off the safety and shot him in the foot. He yelled in pain and hopped around, giving Carmella the chance to run up the alley. She tripped over a garbage bag halfway up but quickly steadied herself and waded over the spilled garbage. She'd just got through it when Jenkins grabbed her roughly from behind and wrapped an arm around her neck. He was going to kill her. She had no choice. She swung her arm up over her shoulder and hit him hard on the head with the gun. He let out and 'oof' and fell onto the floor. She stooped down and cuffed his hands behind his back. Junior and Bobby appeared at the end of the alley. Their mouths dropped in shock at the scene. Carmella ignored their expressions. She turned her back to them, unbuttoned her shirt and tore the wire off. She buttoned the shirt up again, handed the wire to Junior and watched him switch it off.

"Give me some gloves." She instructed. Bobby handed her a pair of latex gloves and the watched as she rubbed the gun on the material of her skirt for about a minute to get rid of any of her prints. Then she flipped the safety on, held it by the barrel and pointed the handle to Junior.

"Take it." She told him. He took it from her and held it properly. She nodded and took it from him by the barrel. Then she grasped Steven's right hand and closed it round the gun. Finally she handed the gun back to Junior and told him to put it in a holster.

"Here's what happened. Junior ran round here because he heard me yelling. I just went in for a drink and didn't know who Jenkins was but he pulled me outside and got way too friendly. Oh wait" She stopped and punched Junior in the head, hard. He stumbled backwards, cursing "Ok, Jenkins punched Junior, who dropped the gun. Jenkins picked it up and then accidently shot himself in the foot and dropped the gun. Junior and I ran, he chased but tripped on the garbage bag and smacked his head against the wall. Junior called Bobby, who came with Tank and Ranger, and he recognized Jenkins as an FTA and cuffed him." She quickly wiped her prints off the cuffs. The two guys nodded and Ranger and Tank appeared. Junior quickly told them what had happened, while Bobby and Carmella nodded in agreement. Ranger looked slightly unconvinced at first, but eventually nodded his approval. Jenkins groaned and tried to stand but couldn't get his balance. Tank wrenched him to his feet and threw him against a wall.

"Sorry about that." He said "He just slipped right out of my hands." Carmella grinned and her dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She nodded and he smiled slightly "We didn't pick up you saying you were going out the back way. We only got it when you started ranting about the sky." He grinned and ruffled her hair. She smiled and they walked out the alley and back to the cars.

"Tank'll take him to hospital to get checked out and then to the station." Ranger told her as they climbed into the car. She nodded, pulled down the sun visor and checked her reflection in the small mirror embedded in it. They drove in silence for a bit, until Ranger said

"Are you going to tell me what really happened back there?" Carmella tried to put a surprised expression on her face.

"I told you, Junior-"

"Junior got there at the same time as Bobby. We heard the whole thing over the wire. You screamed, there was a gunshot, you ran and tripped in the garbage and he caught up with you." He said with a stony expression. Carmella sighed.

"He got physical so I shot him and ran. I fell; he caught up and had an arm round my neck. I swung the gun over my shoulder and hit him on the head with it. Then Junior and Bobby turned up. That's it." She said simply. Ranger nodded and remained silent.

"I don't want to know where you got the gun. Just…I don't know what to say." He finally said.

"How about 'I don't approve but at least you have protection'" Carmella suggested, grinning. Her dad rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. She laughed softly and they drove up the long drive to their house. As they were nearing the gate, Ranger stopped the car suddenly, jerking Carmella against her seatbelt. She was about to ask what he was playing at, when she saw her Aunt Celia leaning against the gate with a huge suitcase and an apologetic expression on her face. She walked over to the car, opened the back door and climbed in, throwing her suitcase in first.  
"I've left Masimo. Could I stay with you for a bit?" She asked. Ranger nodded silently, opened the gate and drove up the rest of the drive to the house. Carmella climbed out and opened the front door for her Aunty.

"The second floor on the left has free bedrooms. You can choose whichever one you want to stay in." Ranger told his sister as he carried her bag through the front. It was close to ten now and there was no light. Carmella switched on all the hall lights so they didn't trip over anything. Steph appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a teddy nightgown and looking slightly confused.

"Hey. How'd everything go? Oh, hi Celia." She said, smiling politely at Ranger's sister. Celia smiled and waved. Ranger nodded and started to carry the suitcase up the stairs.

"It all went fine. Celia's going to be staying here for a while." He told her, kissing her lightly on the lips as he walked passed her, with his sister following. Carmella ran up the stairs, shouted goodnight and went into her bedroom. She quickly changed into the nightgown Harry had given her for Christmas and crawled into her bed. She was reading the latest 'Georgia Nicholson' book, when her cell phone started ringing. She flipped it open and looked at the caller ID, smiling.

"Heya Harry." She said; glad to be talking to her boyfriend again.

"Hey Princess, sorry I haven't spoken to you in a while. I've missed you." He assured her. She smiled and glanced over at a picture of her and Harry she had on her desk that had been taken at the winter formal.  
"I miss you too. Almost time to go back to school though. Why don't you come over tomorrow?" She offered, praying he would accept. She could almost hear him grinning.

"Sounds good. Shall we say midday?" He asked. Carmella nodded enthusiastically, then remembered it was a phone and he couldn't see her nodding.

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Pleasant dreams." He wished and hung up. She threw the phone back onto her bedside table and turned off the light, snuggling deep under her covers and fell asleep thinking of Harry.

It was four in the morning when Carmella was jerked awake by her phone ringing. She grabbed the phone and flipped it open, not checking the caller ID.

"'lo?" She muttered groggily. She could hear muffled shouting in the background.

"Carmella? Oh thank fuck! We've been calling for ages. It's Alex, we're at the night circus and we're in trouble. There were some guys who were just crazy on crack and they started a fight and…it's Harry, he's pretty bad. We need your help. It's me, Harry, Dan, Mandy, Estella and Michael but Mandy and Estella are…they can't help and Dan and Michael are still fighting. Please, we're in the lot round the back-holy shit, get off me! Get-" The line went dead. Carmella was now wide awake. She jumped out of bed and threw on panties, jeans and a jacket with her nightdress still on underneath. Now she had no idea what to do. She had to help her friends but…Aunt Celia. She ran out of her room and up the stairs to her Aunt's room.

"Celia, wake up please!" She shouted and shook her by the shoulders. Her aunt opened her eyes slowly and stared in confusion at her niece.

"Carmella? What-"

"Please you have to help! My friends are in trouble and my boyfriend is hurt and I have to help them but dad will go mad if I steal a car…again." She admitted. Celia jumped up, threw on jeans and a jumper and ran down the stairs with her niece close behind. Carmella had grabbed her bag with her Maglight, defence spray, stun gun and gun in there. Celia grabbed a set of keys off the side and they ran out the front door to a parked SUV. They climbed in and sped down the drive, through the gate and into the town. Carmella was shouting directions, trying to remember her way and swiping tears off her face. She was also praying they didn't get busted for speeding. They screeched to a stop outside the club, just over ten minutes after Alex had called Carmella. It usually took half an hour to reach the club from the house; Carmella was more than impressed with her Aunt's driving. She jumped out the car and ran around the back of the club with Celia following her. There were five meatheads she didn't recognize beating the crap out of Alex, Michael and Dan. Mandy and Estella were passed out on the bank that surrounded the car lot. Celia ran over to the girls to check them over while Carmella ran up behind the meatheads. She stun gunned one in the back of the neck and watched him crumple to the ground with a sense of satisfaction. She then delivered a roundhouse kick to another's head, sending him flying backwards into the others. She quickly stunned another two, so there were only two left standing.

"Go find Harry." Alex yelled "We can handle these two." Carmella saw him glance nervously at Mandy, but she nodded and went to look for her boyfriend. She held the Maglight up over her shoulder, spreading light around the lot but also ensuring she could use it to hit someone of she was attacked. Then the beam of light fell onto a few drops of blood. Her heart dropped to her shoes and she followed the drops until the light fell onto Harry. His face was cut and bruised and there was a knife wound in his arm. She clapped a hand over her mouth and ran to his side. He wasn't conscious but he was still breathing. She shook him lightly, trying not to hit him against the floor.

"Harry, wake up." She shouted "Wake up now!" Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Carmella? Don't look at me, I look like shit. I haven't done my hair or make up or-" She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Wiseass. We need to get you to a hospital." She told him. He shook his head, then frowned when he realised it wasn't the best movement to make.

"No way. I can't, I'll just head home." He muttered. Carmella shook her head and pulled his unwounded arm around her shoulders so she could help him up. He got to his feet unsteadily and shifted his weight onto her.

"You're coming back to mine. Celia has medical training, she'll look over you." She assured him. He mumbled a noise of agreement and let her lead him over to where the girls were regaining consciousness. The meatheads had cleared off when they realised back up had arrived. Alex was nursing a bleeding nose, Dan had a black eye and Michael had a cut lip. The SUV only had four passenger seats but they all managed to pile in. Michael, Alex and Dan were sat in the huge trunk, Harry sat in the middle seat in the back so Carmella could keep an eye on him with Mandy on the other side and Estella had grabbed the front seat. Celia just drove them home, not asking any questions about what had happened and not trying to make conversation. They drove up the drive, pausing to open the gates. Mandy smiled.

"I forgot to tell you at the party, I love your house. It's amazing." Carmella smiled and nodded weakly. Tiredness was starting to take a hold of her. They pulled to a stop and climbed out of the car. Celia led them all into the kitchen and then went to get a medical kit. Mandy explained that her and Estella had been got with a stun gun and so hadn't been injured. Alex was tilting his head and pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding. Celia walked back in and set the kit on the counter. Carmella poured some antiseptic liquid on a wad of cotton wool and quickly cleaned Michael's lip. She then put some bruising relief cream onto Dan's swollen eye and helped Alex wipe the blood off his face while Celia saw to Harry. She even had a small kit for doing stitches. After she cleaned all his facial wounds, she took the kit out.

"Any of you have a lighter?" She asked. They all shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to admit to having a lighter. Finally Harry pulled one out of his pocket and handed it to Celia. She used it to sterilise the needle for the stitches, then threaded it.

"This is going to hurt." She warned Harry. He nodded silently. Carmella grasped his free hand but had to look away when her Aunt started stitching the knife wound in Harry's arm. She felt his grasp tighten with each stitch but he still didn't make a sound. Finally Celia stood and put the medical kit away.

"OK Harry, you may have a concussion so stay awake for the next 24 hours. It'll be hard but it's for your own good." She assured him "Now all of you go up to Carmella's wing and stay there. I think it's in your best interest it you dad doesn't hear about this." She said directly to Carmella, who nodded in agreement. Her dad would not be happy if he found out. They all scurried up the stairs and into Carmella's bedroom.

"It's going to be impossible for Harry to stay awake for that long on his own." Alex stated "I say we take it in turns, we sleep while someone watches, then we swap every four hours." He suggested. They all nodded and agreed to stay at Carmella's house for the next night.

"I'll take the first shift." Carmella volunteered "If Harry goes in the games room then we have five bedrooms for the sleeping people to go in." They quickly worked out an order to go in and then all found a room to sleep in. Carmella and Harry went into the games room and collapsed onto the sofa.

"What can we do for four hours?" Harry asked with a suggestive grin on his lips. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. He unzipped her jacket and slid it off her shoulders, then smiled when he recognized the nightdress.

"It looks good on you." He whispered and pressed a kiss to her neck. She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, fully awake again.

The four hours went surprisingly fast. Carmella looked at the clock and saw it was already nine in the morning. The games room door opened and Mandy shuffled in, smiling sleepily.

"Go sleep Carmella; you look like the living dead." She muttered and switched the TV on. Carmella grinned and slumped into her bedroom where Mandy had been sleeping and, not even bothering to take of her jeans; she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I hope this was ok! (BTW Masimo is Celia's husband, just in case someone didn't get that!) What do you all think of Celia/Lester? Let me know! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	28. I'll look after you

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!**

I stumbled down into the kitchen at almost ten in the morning. Carmella hadn't surfaced yet and Ranger had already gone out to work. Celia was also still asleep, presumably dreaming of Lester. Ella shuffled over to me and smiled. She handed me a mug of the herbal crap that Tank had made me drink last night. I raised an eyebrow sceptically. She smiled apologetically.

"Ranger's orders." She explained and hustled back over to the sink, humming to herself and loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher. I drank the awful liquid, trying not to taste as it slipped down my throat. I shuddered involuntarily and set the mug on the side. There were footsteps in the hall and Celia shuffled in, looking like death warmed up. I smiled at her. She mumbled a 'morning' and poured herself a large mug of coffee. She sat at the counter opposite me and flicked through the paper.

"You look tired Celia." Ella said sympathetically and put a box of doughnuts on the counter between us. I grabbed a Boston cream and took a bite. Celia grinned as I let out a quiet moan.

"Apparently my brother isn't doing his job properly" Celia said quietly. I blushed slightly but continued to eat my doughnut. Celia laughed quietly and took a doughnut. I had no plans for the day as I was no longer able to chase skips. I could go do some paperwork for Ranger but in all honesty I couldn't be bothered. Luckily, I was saved from having to make any decisions be Celia looking up at me and asking

"Do you want to go shopping?" I nodded and half an hour later we were heading to the mall. It was strange how well I got on with Celia. She seemed to know everything about me from stories in the paper and from what Carmella and Ranger had told her. We headed straight to Victoria's Secret, giggling like schoolgirls. Celia told me about her marriage to Masimo. Apparently it had been falling apart for a while but neither of them had wanted to admit it. Lester had always been there for her and things just developed.

"So you and Lester are a couple now?" I asked. She nodded as she examined a black lacy bra.

"Looks that way." Just then, Celia's cell phone started ringing. She picked it up and after a brief conversation, she hung up and looked at me apologetically.

"I have to go, I'm so sorry! One of my girlfriends has locked herself out of her house and needs help getting back in. I'll see you back at the house." She said and dashed out the shop. I sighed, finished my shopping and walked out to the food court. I was about to order my food when some one jostled into me. I stumbled back and saw that it was Joe, looking down at me in surprise.

"Steph? Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. How are you?" he asked with genuine concern. I smiled and nodded.

"I'm good. How are you?" I asked noticing that he looked tired and stressed.

"I'm ok. There's a lot going on at work at the moment so I've been doing overtime. Do you want to join me for lunch?" He asked. I hesitated before nodding. It was just lunch, I told myself, no bad can come from it.

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Carmella finally woke up round midday. She shuffled into the games room and found Harry and Alex playing cards. Estella, Michael, Mandy and Dan were all still asleep. Ella had brought up a platter of food for lunch which turned out to be quite the little feast. When the others finally emerged, they decided to settle down and watch a film with the reasoning that anything else would be way to strenuous. Settling on 'Batman Begins' (Carmella's choice) they all flopped on the couch with a large bowl of popcorn. Carmella looked around at her friends and smiled, knowing that this was how teenage years should be. She didn't care about her mother and James. She didn't care about Meredith hating her. She didn't know about the threatening letters that were still arriving at the RangeMan office, each more horrible then the last, promising pain and violence. As Ranger had said to Tank on the arrival of the last letter, 'what she doesn't know can't hurt her'.

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I looked at Joe as he spoke animatedly about his job. Finally he broke off to have a drink of coke.  
"I miss you cupcake." He said suddenly. I blinked and looked at him. He moved his hand and closed it around mine. I was too surprised to say anything.

"Please, come back home. If for no one else then do it for the babies, it's not fair to bring them up without a father when I'm here and I want to look after them more than anything else." He pleaded, staring into my eyes. But they would have a father without Joe. Ranger would look after us, he'd said he would and Carmella said he would. Joe sighed.

"Do you really think that Ranger will want to look after a family that isn't his? The babies aren't his responsibility, it's not fair to just dump them on him; he'd only end up resenting you for it." He said, as if reading my mind. I froze at his words. What if he was right? What if Ranger ended up hating me for expecting him to look after children that weren't him? Carmella had said that he stood by her when people said he wasn't her father, but he already knew her then. They'd already formed a bond. From the very beginning, he'll know that the children aren't his. Before I knew what I was doing, I'd agreed. I didn't feel any regrets, but then I wasn't exactly happy. In fact I didn't really feel anything because deep down I knew that I wasn't doing this for mw; I was doing it for the babies.

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Carmella smiled and led her friends down the staircase towards the front door. She gave them all a hug as they walked out the front door. Harry stayed by her side with her arm around her waist.

"See you soon, have a good holiday for what's left of it!" She beamed as her friends walked out the door and down the drive. She shut the door and dropped a kiss on Harry's lips. He smiled and they started back across the hall, when the door opened and Stephie walked in, followed by Joe Morelli. Carmella stared at them in surprise.

"Stephie? What's going on?"

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"Stephie? What's going on?" Carmella asked me. How could I explain this to her? She looked slightly confused, just stood there staring at me while her boyfriend cuddled her close to him. I looked down at the floor and felt Joe rest a hand on my shoulder. I sighed and pulled my gaze back up to meet Carmella's eyes.

"I'm moving back in with Joe." I said shortly "It's for the best. Tell Ra-tell your dad that I'm grateful for him letting me stay and I'll pay him for rent when I get some cash together." Her mouth dropped in shock. Harry tightened his grip around her waist. She didn't try to stop me as I walked up the staircase to pack my things. Joe came up with me, I guess because he was scared to be left with Carmella. I didn't hear a word from her, she didn't shout or scream or say anything to me. She wasn't in the hall when we went back down, but I could hear sobbing coming from her bedroom. I couldn't bring myself to go and say goodbye to her. It wasn't fair to drag it out. So I left. That was it, I'd moved out.

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Carmella froze as Stephie swept past her with Joe hot on her trail. Harry pulled her close to him and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She wanted to scream. Stephie had ruined the perfect teenage life she'd had, even if it had only been for a few hours. But what good would screaming do? Screaming never worked. She just glided back up the stairs, still grasping Harry's hand. She managed to hold the tears back until she was safe in the realms of her bedroom. Then she just collapsed onto the bed and burst into tears. Harry lay down next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. After a while, she heard the front door slam closed. Eventually she stopped crying and just lay there in Harry's arms. She turned to face him, kissing him on the lips.

"Do you have protection?" she whispered. He blinked and stared at her.

"You mean-?" He asked. Carmella nodded adamantly. He nodded and started digging around in his pocket. Finally he pulled out a single condom. Nice to know he was prepared and also that he wasn't feeling arrogant. But then he put it back in his pocket and looked at her, brushing a stray hair out of her face.

"Carmella, I don't think this is the right time. You're upset and-"

"And I need you to take my mind off things. Please Harry, this is what I want." She assured him. He nodded and shifted his weight, so that Carmella was lying on her back and looking up at him.

"Don't worry Caramel" He smiled and kissed her "I'll look after you."

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I hope this was ok! Apologies if anyone is confused by this change but all will be resolved/revealed! Do you want me to keep writing about Carmella and Ranger as well? Let me know! BTW I know this may all seem a bit full on, but it's actually quite accurate to the summer me and my friends had (Ever been called late at night by some one to say your boyfriend has been beaten up? Not nice!) Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	29. Easy to spot

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her! **

_Two weeks later…_

Carmella opened her mouth to say something to her father as he walked past, but before she could think of anything to say, he was gone. She hated Steph for this. Carmella had been the one who'd had to go and tell her father that Stephie had left to go back to Joe Morelli. Maybe he blamed her for Steph leaving. Maybe he thought that Carmella could have stopped her from leaving. Ella hustled into the room, beaming at her warmly.

"Hello Carmella. Looking forwards to going back to school?" She asked. Carmella sighed and nodded.

"I actually am. It's like sharing a house with the Grim Reaper with dad moping round." She muttered. Ella laughed softly and handed her a mug of coffee. There was a loud crashing noise outside and Celia fell through the front door, quite obviously drunk. Lester pranced in after her, and the pair of them were laughing hysterically. Carmella glanced up at the wall clock and saw that it was eleven in the morning. She set her mug down on the side table and walked into the hall. They were leaning against each other for support and there was a smashed vase on the floor. Ella was already hurrying with a dustpan and brush. Ranger stalked into the hall with a thundercloud look on his face.

"Don't do it dad, murder is still frowned upon in this state." Carmella smiled.

"He's armed; I'll say it was self defence."

"Was that a joke? Good lord, he is human!" Celia giggled. Ranger glared at his sister

"What the hell are you doing in this state? It's not even midday!" He shouted. Celia sighed, tried to take a step forwards and almost fell over. Lester grabbed her round the middle to steady her. After a half hour rant, Celia and Lester stumbled up the stairs to her bedroom and Ranger retreated to his office. After a while, Carmella decided to go and talk to him, first making sure that she did in fact have life insurance. He was sat at his desk, frowning at the computer screen. She sat in the chair opposite him and waited for him to say something. After sitting in silence for five minutes, he finally looked up at her.

"What's up?" He asked. She smiled at him.

"Are you ok? You've hardly said a word since she left." She asked, straight to the point.

"Sweetheart I'm sorry, I've just been busy. Steph moving in was just temporary; we always knew that. I really am fine." He said adamantly. Then he went back to work.

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Carmella wandered around the RangeMan offices, looking for someone who would actually talk to her. With the exception of Lester, all the guys were in totally foul moods and were refusing to communicate like human beings. Lester couldn't communicate because he had his tongue down Celia's throat. She drifted into her father's office, knowing that he was out on an apprehension of some variety. She sat down into the large leather chair and started rooting around the desk out of boredom. Nothing of interest until she opened the bottom draw and found a bundle of letters addressed to her. Her father had been screening her mail. The post mark was from Florida. What if they were from her mother or her friends in Florida? They were all open already. This was a gross invasion of privacy, what did he think he was playing at? She pulled the letter out of the first envelope and felt sick as she read it

_Carmella_

_You need to make the appropriate arrangements for your death; I'd hate for your relatives to be left in the lurch. Have you thought about the afterlife? I think of you every time I see flames, knowing that soon your soul will be burning in hell. I know they say everyone has a chance to repent, but I will personally make sure that you're in no state to get into heaven when your time comes. _

Carmella knew there would be no finger prints, her dad would already have checked. The rest of the letters were the same, threatening death and torture. It was the last one that made her stomach lurch.

_Carmella_

_Soon we will become one. Keep yourself pure for me._

This was sick. She could feel tears pouring down her face. What had she done to deserve this? How could someone have that much hate for her? The office door swung open, making her jump out the seat and let out an involuntary scream. Ranger and Tank were stood in the doorway, looking at her in surprise. She tried to stuff the letters back into the desk draw without either of them noticing, but knew that they'd already seen she had them. Her dad stormed over to the desk and grabbed the letters.

"What the hell do you think you were doing? How dare you go through my desk!" He yelled. She'd never heard him so angry and cowered away.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, feeling more tears fall down her face. He walked around the desk, grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her out the office. The door slammed behind her and she could hear her dad yelling. She ran down the stairs and out the office building. Before she knew it, she was outside Harry's apartment building. He opened the door for her straight away and rushed her into his room to avoid any awkward questions from the other boys. Carmella sat on the edge of the bed, crying quietly.

"All this time I thought it had just stopped, that they'd just got bored. But they're still after me. They're going to kill me Harry." She whispered. Harry sat next to her looking deeply confused.

"Carmella who's going to kill you? What are you talking about?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

"Those guys that broke into my dad's building. They've been sending me threatening letters, saying what they're going to do to me. Dad had kept them all so I wouldn't read them but then I found them today. Why do they hate me so much?" She sobbed. He gently pushed her head to rest on his shoulder and held her tight.

"They don't know you. They couldn't possibly hate you if they knew you." He assured her. She sniffed and laughed

"Either that or they'd have more reason to want to kill me!" She joked lamely. They finally went to sleep, after talking and…other things.

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_Steph's POV_

I hadn't seen Ranger or Carmella properly for almost five months. If Ranger happened to be in the bonds office when I popped in for a girlie chat then he'd just walk out or go into Vinnie's office. Sometimes he gave me a nod of acknowledgement, but then most of the time he just ignored me. I occasionally saw Carmella in the mall but either she didn't see me or she just ignored me. I didn't blame her. Things at home were…strange for lack of a better word. I wasn't really up for any physical activities with Joe given my condition. Strangely he didn't seem to mind. He was a bit frustrated for the first few weeks but then he found the local porno store and settled down. I didn't mind, as long as he was content and had his stress level down to the minimum. I was doing some last minute baby shopping in the mall when I spotted Carmella. She glanced across and caught my eye, but started walking away and pretending not to see me. Luckily, she was easy to spot being dressed in a black mini skirt that had several layers of black and red net skirts, black boots, a black corset and lace gloves. I followed her through the shopping centre and finally caught up with her in the car park. She spun around to face me. I noticed her hair was now jet black. She glared at me.

"What do you want?" She asked "I've got nothing to say to you."

"Carmella, please just talk to me. I've missed you. You and your dad." I added, remembering how much I had wanted to talk to the pair of them. She glared and turned to walk off again. I felt a surge of pain ripple through me as she began to go. Woah, I hadn't realised how much I'd missed her. I did a shuffle run after her and grabbed her upper arm.

"Carmella hear me out. I'm so sorry that I left but I was just trying to do the right thing for everyone. I thought it would be better this way." I said sincerely. She stared at me with a look of disbelief.

"Better? How is this better? For almost two months after you left, my dad hardly said a word to me. Those threatening letters having been flooding in, making him more tense and me terrified. I get scared to go out of the house at dark. I used to take walks in the evening to clear my head and now I can't even do that because I'm so scared of what could be waiting in the dark for me. And you just abandoned us. You were the closest thing I ever had to a mother and you abandoned me, just like Madre did. After all this time all you can say is you're sorry and it's not enough. I was looking forward to getting to know my dad better; I thought that at least with you gone I could talk to him properly, but no. The only times he ever really speaks to me is when I do a distraction jobs. I'm beginning to wish more people would skip, just so I can talk to him about something, even if it's some psycho's past convictions. Isn't that pathetic? Then on top of all of that, he keeps bringing Jeanne Ellen back home to do goodness knows what." She hissed. Another wave of pain. Suddenly, Carmella looked at the ground in utter shock.  
"Uh Steph…you could have said something…" She muttered. I followed her gaze and suddenly the waves of pain made sense. My waters had just broke, all over the parking lot.

"Oh this is so embarrassing…" I murmured. Carmella looked appalled, shocked and scared all at once. She grabbed my handbag and pulled my car keys out.

"Come on, we're going to the hospital." She commanded and ran to start my car up. She swerved to a stop in front of my and motioned for me to get in. Metallica were blaring out of the car speakers. I pulled my seatbelt on as we squealed out of the lot. It was really starting to hurt now. Why had no one warned me about this? Damn. These babies had better be cute. As we drove, Carmella pulled her phone.

"Damn…pick up…pick up now!...Oh hello Mr Morelli, it's Carmella. Yeah I'm fine but Steph's gone into labour so I'm driving her to the hospital…Ok, well I'll see you there." She hung up and dialled another number.

"Hi Dad, I might be a bit late home tonight…I'm fine, but Steph's gone into labour so I'm driving her to the hospital…oh don't worry, if any cop pulls me over then they'll be more concerned with the woman in labour then the teenager without a license…ok…bye!" She hung up and threw her phone into her bag. I stared at her.

"You don't have a license?" I asked incredulously. She shrugged.

"There was a slight misunderstanding. Its ok, I'll have it back soon. Well at some point in the future." We swerved into the parking lot and screeched to a stop. Carmella jumped out the car, ran round to my side and helped me out. I waddled into the reception area with Carmella supporting me and flopped down onto the nearest chair.

"Hi, Steph's gone into labour so…do your stuff!" Carmella said to the nurse at reception. The nurse nodded and hurried round to me with a wheelchair. I was rushed up to the maternity ward with Carmella running next to me. I was shifted onto a bed and my legs were hoisted up into the stirrups.  
"Ok Stephanie, we just need to make sure things are ok here. When's your due date?" One of the nurses asked.

"In a couple of weeks." I gasped, wondering how long it would be until I could get some pain meds. The doctors and nurses hurried around, doing whatever it was they were doing. I just lay with my legs in the air, breathing and grasping Carmella's hand. Time seemed to slow down, then speed up and then slow down again. A nurse came in and announced that Ranger and Morelli were here but that they weren't allowed to come in as there were already too many people.

"Do you want me to go out so Morelli can come in?" Carmella asked. I shook my head and kept hold of her hand. I couldn't imagine Morelli wanting to be here, he was slightly squeamish about this kind of thing. Carmella spent the next hour trying to take my mind off the labour by playing I-Spy. Finally, the nurse looked up at me.

"Ok Ms Plum, you're ready to start pushing." She said in an annoyingly happy voice and a big smile. I was going to kick her ass when I got these babies out of me. Oh now this was real pain…My grip around Carmella's hand tightened. The nurses were all telling me to breathe and push. I totally lost track of time with the rhythm 'push and breathe, push and breathe, push and breathe…' running through my head. Suddenly the sound of crying filled the room. A few minutes later, there was more crying from another baby. Carmella grinned and I let go of her hand.

"You did it Stephie!" She giggled. The nurse handed her the babies and the smile slid off her face. My heart seemed to drop.

"What? What's wrong with them?" I asked shrilly.

"Nothing, they're totally healthy. It's just…how sure are you that Morelli is the father?" She asked. I swear my heart stopped. Carmella continued "It's just that I've seen a lot of Cuban babies and these…well these are Cuban babies." She smiled apologetically and handed the babies to me. She was right. These babies were definitely Cuban, their skin was a shade lighter then Carmella's which meant one thing; Ranger was the father.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I just wanted to move time on so…meh! Apologies if anyone is confused by this change but all will be resolved/revealed! Do you guys want a sequel? If you want one, I'll write one but if no one does then I'll end it with this story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	30. Disturbing

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her! **

I stared at Carmella, desperate for her to tell me what to do. She sighed.

"I don't suppose there's any point asking who the father is. What do you want to do? I can go and stall dad and Morelli so they don't come in straight away but it's so obvious that you won't be able to fool either of them. Do you think you should tell them one at a time or together?" She asked. I shrugged. I needed someone to take control and tell me what to do. I couldn't think straight…if I told them together they might end up killing each other. If I told them separately then I the one I told first might tell the other and that would lead to all kinds of problems. This was all very confusing. Carmella rolled her eyes and muttered something in Spanish.

"Tell my father first. He can stand here with you when you tell Joe." She said. Ok that seemed to be logical. I looked down at my children. Woah that felt weird to say. One boy and one girl.

"The boy was born first." Carmella told me, smiling at her baby brother and sister. I smiled and went all teary. I just sat for almost an hour looking at my beautiful babies. Eventually, Carmella stood up and smiled.

"I'm going to get dad and bring him in to see the babies. Don't worry, I won't tell Joe where we're going." She assured me. I nodded and felt my heart flutter in my chest with nerves. This was singularly the most terrifying thing I'd ever been faced with. Carmella walked back into the room with Ranger following her. He looked different now. It wasn't an obvious physical difference but his eyes seemed…colder maybe. He smiled at me politely but didn't say anything.

"Hi Ranger." I smiled. He nodded

"What's up? How come Joe hasn't been in to see you yet?" He asked. No mention of the babies. I sighed and looked at Carmella. She smiled ad nodded encouragingly. I held the babies out towards him. He raised an eyebrow and then took them. He looked down at them with a small smile on his face for a few seconds, then the smile faded and he looked at me with a look of shock on his face.

"These aren't Morelli's, are they?" He asked. I shook my head apologetically. Ranger looked from the babies, to me, to Carmella and back to the babies. Then he smiled widely. A proper 200 watt smile. He handed the babies to Carmella and gave me a huge hug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Then Joe walked in.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded. Ranger straightened up and stood next to me, holding my hand. Carmella shuffled closer to us, still holding the babies.  
"Joe…the babies aren't yours." I said quickly "I'm so sorry, I thought that they were. I was so sure…I'm sorry." I told him sincerely. He looked furious. He stormed over to Carmella and looked at the babies. The shock registered on his face and she took a few steps closer to the bed. Ranger tightened his grip around my hand and I bit my lip.

"Steph, we can still make it work. I'll look after the kids no matter what." Joe said desperately. I looked at him in surprise. I don't know what I'd been expecting, but it hadn't been that. That thought hadn't crossed my mind; the only consequences I'd thought of were me raising the child alone or me raising the child with Ranger. Carmella stopped me from having to make any decisions.

"Joe it's not fair for you to look after someone else's kids. You're an attractive guy; you'll find someone else and have your own babies. I know that's what you want." She said sympathetically. He stared at her, slightly open mouthed. Then he nodded and walked out without another word. I stared in amazement after him, then at Carmella.

"How…how did you do that?" I asked. She shrugged and handed me the babies.

"Magic." She smiled weakly "I'll go phone your family." The door swung shut behind her. I looked up at Ranger and smiled nervously.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I put the two of you through; it was an awful thing to do. I'll understand if you can't forgive me and if you don't want to be with me." I told him, feeling tears pooling in my eyes. Ranger looked quite confused by this outburst. He smiled and stroked our daughter's cheek.

"Babe, of course I want to be with you. But you have to understand that I'm still not marriage material. I managed to drag Carmella up somehow, but I still carry two guns and a knife. I'm a dangerous guy and I have an equally dangerous past. But I'm there for you if you still want me." He offered sincerely. I smiled and wrapped an arm around his neck, balancing the babies on the other arm.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't change you for the world." I whispered, feeling tears in my eyes again. Damn hormones. Carmella glided back in a 'queen of the fairies' manner, all magic and smiles. She sat on the end of the bed, nudging my feet out the way.

"I say Carlos and Liberty." She said shortly and firmly. I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why do you get to chose?" I asked "I didn't see you pushing these two out of you." She shrugged and continued to grin. Ranger looked down at the two wailing babies. A smile appeared on his face.

"I think Carmella's right." He stated. I glared.

"This is a Cuban conspiracy. It's racial bullying, you two are ganging up on me." I protested, not wanting to admit that once again Carmella was correct.  
"Liberty Marie Carmen Mañoso." Carmella announced, having apparently decided on the girl's name. I sighed.

"Am I going to have any say in this?" I asked wearily, guessing the answer. Carmella shook her head. Ranger laughed softly. Just then, the door flew open and my mother, sister and grandmother barged in, waking the sleeping babies who promptly started bawling. The three women started cooing over the babies and making various faces in order to stop the wailing. I wondered how long it would take them to notice the skin colour. It was Valerie who looked up at me in confusion.

"Are they healthy? Are the doctors sure everything is ok?" She asked. I nodded and glanced up at Ranger. Valerie's mouth dropped open and she started squealing like an excited child on Christmas morning. My grandmother was next to catch on. I think this was because my mom was pretending that this wasn't happening. In her world the babies were Joe's and I was going to be Mrs Morelli. Her world did not consist of a badass bounty hunter being the father of her grandchildren, and the aunt being a crazy Cuban teenager. Valerie was bad enough. My mother's imagination wasn't that vivid so for her none of this was happening. Grandma Mazur was eying up Ranger.

"So, are you going to marry her?" She asked. Ranger's expression didn't change, but I could see fear in his eyes.

"We haven't discussed that yet." I said quickly. This earned me glares from my mother and Grandma.

"I'll marry Ranger!" Valerie offered.

"You're already married." Carmella pointed out. Valerie shrugged.

"It's not like I couldn't divorce him." She replied. We all went silent. I think my mother was considering beating Valerie with an oxygen container. That might be fun to watch. Thankfully, I was saved from any further torture by the nurse telling my family that I needed my rest. Everyone left except Ranger. He stayed with me while I slept.

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Carmella walked out the hospital and into the parking lot. She found her dad's car straight away being that it was huge, black and shiny. She unlocked the door and climbed in, knowing he wouldn't mind if she took it for a spin. But then, where would she go? Her and Harry had been on a break for a couple of weeks for various reasons so she couldn't go to him. Junior was too scared to go near her. The girls were all away on a French trip and the guys would all be at Harry's. Florida. She could go to Florida. It had been ages since she'd seen Oli and Freya, she'd go and see them. The car roared into life and sped out of the parking lot. She left a message on her dad's answer phone saying that she was fine but she was going to see friends in Florida for a couple of days and he could reach her on her mobile. It seemed logical for him and Steph to have some alone time with the babies and each other.

Carmella parked near the airport entrance and pulled her overnight bag off the back seat. She locked the car and walked in to the airport, looking for the flight departure times. The next plane to Tampa was in thirty minutes. She booked a ticket and went to sit in the departures lounge. She'd read two stories in her magazine before the call to board the flight to Tampa went out. Much to her disappointment, she was not sat by a hot surfer type but a rather fat balding man with awful BO. She could sense it was going to be a very long flight.

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Ranger sighed and hung up. I looked at him questioningly.

"Carmella's gone to Florida for a couple of days to see some friends." He told me. I nodded, confused at Carmella's sudden decision. Unless it wasn't that sudden.

"Has she planned on going for a long time?" I asked. Ranger looked at me blankly. Apparently this thought hadn't crossed his mind. He sighed again.  
"I wouldn't know if she had. I haven't properly spoken to her for a while. But it's fine. I'm sure she'll be ok. We have family down there and she can stay in the RangeMan apartments there." He quickly phoned Carmella back and left her a message telling her this. Then he told her he loved her and to have a good time. The babies had drifted off to sleep in their little cots. Ranger sat by me with the babies on his other side, looking extremely content. He kissed the palm of my hand and smiled at me. Not a 200 watt smile, but a genuinely loving smile.  
"Do you want to get married?" He asked me suddenly. I blinked up at him in shock, then shook my head slowly.

"I've already tried marriage. It didn't work for me. Maybe in a few years, but not right now; I saw the problems Valerie had and she was only marrying Albert." I pointed out. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Good. That works quite well for me." There was a knock on the door and my dad walked in, smiling and holding a bunch of flowers. He shook Ranger's hand, smiled at the babies and kissed me on the forehead.

"Well done sweetheart." He said. Then he left. Still a man of few words.   
"I think you just got dad's blessing." I told Ranger. He smiled and stroked my hair out of my face. Then I went to sleep again.

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Carmella got off the plane at Tampa airport and stretched. She turned her phone on and checked her messages. Two voice mail messages. The first was from her dad, telling her to stay at the RangeMan offices and have a good time. The second was from an unknown number. Carmella almost dropped the phone when she realised it was from her mother.

"Carmella it's me. I just phoned…I don't know why I phoned actually. I miss you a lot. I had my baby. He's…well he's you little brother and he's two months old today. I think you'd like to meet him. He looks like you. James…James has been distant lately. He's never at home so maybe that would mean you could come and visit. I'd like that. I have to go now; Lucas is trying to eat a crayon." Then she hung up. Carmella flipped her phone shut and stared at it in amazement. A cab pulled up next to her. She jumped in and told him to take her to Washington Avenue. The cab journey only took a quarter of an hour and soon she was parked outside the all too familiar house. She handed the driver a twenty and climbed out. She walked down the path and knocked on the front door. The door was flung open by Freddy, one of her oldest friend. He grinned and pulled her into a hug.

"Caramel! What the fuck are you doing here?" He laughed. Carmella smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  
"I came to visit you, obviously. I guessed it would be best to come stay here because you're parents are always away and so it would be ok to stay for a couple of nights." She explained. Freddy let go of her and ushered her into the house.

"Well thought out Caramel, the parents are indeed in Europe. Visiting the city of love."

"Paris? I thought they went to Paris last year." Carmella said.

"Shit, is Paris the city of love? I was talking about Rome. What's that the city of then?" He asked. Carmella shrugged.  
"Old buildings? Romans maybe?" She suggested. Freddy nodded and they went to sit in the lounge. They chatted for a couple of hours about everything they'd been up to since seeing each other at New Year. Carmella told him that she'd split up with Harry after their five months together. Freddy showed the appropriate level of sadness and empathy before changing the subject to the Simpsons in true boy form. At around six there was a knock at the door. Freddy opened it and a minute later the whole of Carmella's old friendship group filled the lounge, all squealing in surprise and delight at seeing her. Freya and Oli were still very much a couple and walked in with their arms around each other. They both pulled Carmella into a three way hug both laughing happily. Jasmine, Lilly and Carl flopped onto a sofa, brandishing popcorn and films from Blockbuster.

"I say in true fab gang style we start with 'The Ring' and work our way through the rest." Jasmine suggested. They all nodded and Freddy put the film on, then cuddled next to Carmella on the sofa.

"Welcome home Caramel." He whispered.

"It's good to be back." She replied. He kissed her on the forehead and went back to watching the film. When the film finished, they ordered large amounts of pizza and sat in a circle, eating and gossiping as if nothing had changed…as if they didn't have a care between them. The others went home at around eleven, leaving Carmella and Freddy to clear everything up.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Freddy asked as he bin-bagged a load of pizza boxes. Carmella shrugged. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to go and hang out with her friends, to go back to all her old haunts and go back to what she used to be even if it was only for one day. Then she knew that she should go and see her mom…and her half brother. Yesterday she was an only child. Today she had two half brothers and a half sister. It was going to take a lot of getting used to. She glanced over at Freddy as he brushed his sun bleached hair out of his face. He'd always been amazingly good looking, but had never shown any interest in maintaining relationships. He was more of a one night kind of guy. He looked up and caught her gaze.

"Carmella, what actually happened between you and Harry? I mean, you said you broke up but you didn't say why." He asked. Carmella felt her blood go cold and she sighed.

"It's complicated. I thought I could help him but I couldn't. He was in to deep, turning up to school drunk and that kind of thing. He'd get pissy when I tried to help him. It's better for us this way; it makes it easier to stay friends." She finished sadly. Freddy smiled and gave her a hug. After a few minutes, she fell asleep. Freddy smiled down at his beautiful friend and carried her upstairs to bed.

Carmella woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. She padded down stairs and saw Freddy serving up a cooked breakfast. She smiled and poured herself a glass of orange juice before sitting at the table. Freddy placed a plate in front of her and sat opposite. They ate in silence for a while, before Carmella finally spoke.

"I'm going to see Madre today." She told him. He nodded and chewed some bacon.

"I'll come with you." He said through a mouth of half chewed food. Carmella nodded. She didn't want to object; she wanted the company and emotional back up.

They pulled up outside Carmella's old house, the home of her mother, new brother and James. James should be out of the house, at work. Carmella noticed his car wasn't there. Freddy got out the car and ran across to the house. Carmella's mother opened the door. After a short conversation, Freddy turned and motioned for Carmella to come over. She hopped out the car and walked across the road. Her mother's eyes widened as she saw her, but she didn't start to scream or curse, which was always a good sign. There was a small baby balanced on her hip. He had a mop of dark brown hair, huge chocolate coloured eyes and skin a few shades lighter then Carmella's. Eva smiled and stepped aside to let her daughter and Freddy in. Carmella settled on a sofa in the living room opposite her mother. There was an awkward silence before Freddy offered to go and make everyone a cup of coffee. Eva smiled at her daughter.

"I'm so pleased you came to see me Carmella, I have missed you."

"I was in Florida already when I got your message. I just thought will I was here…" Carmella trailed off, glancing down at the floor where Lucas was sat playing with a teddy. Eva sighed.

"I've missed you Carmella. I think…maybe you were right about James. Lately he's been…distant, he won't even look at Lucas and he's just…I think he might be having an affair." She finished sadly. Carmella looked up at her mother. There were tears in the woman's eyes. She knew she should be angry at her mother; the woman had practically disowned her for no good reason. But at the same time, she was her mother. Carmella sighed and gave her mother a hug. The woman was a lot thinner then she had been before. Freddy walked in carrying a tray of biscuits. He coughed uncomfortably.

"I'll just go…get…biscuits." He excused himself and hurried out the room.

Carmella stayed for two hours chatting to her mother. She agreed to go back and see her and Lucas tomorrow. Eva seemed nervous for her to leave before James got back, which was understandable.

Freddy drove them into town to meet the others for lunch. For a couple of ours, it seemed like nothing in Carmella's life had changed; like she'd never met James, never been expelled, never found her dad…

"Hey Caramel, tell me something" Freya said when they were in the toilet touching up their make up "Are you and Freddy…you know…" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Carmella rolled her eyes.

"We're just friends." She said adamantly. Freya nodded knowingly.

"He likes you. He's good looking. Maybe-"

"Freya, we live in totally different states! We've been friends for years. Just no."

"What about a quick shag then?" Freya suggested

"No! Well, maybe…"

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I smiled when the nurse came in to tell me that me and the babies were free to go. Until I got in the car with Ranger. What if I was an awful mother? I had no preparation, and I was ok with Lisa but the second she started crying I got out of there as fast as I could. Oh shit. I should have stayed in hospital for as long as possible. I shouldn't be going home! Ranger smiled at me.

"I'll look after you babe, you and the babies. I had their nurseries done yesterday as soon as I heard…that you'd be staying with us. And Celia and Ella are both getting very maternal and…well its disturbing."

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I hope this was ok! So sorry I haven't updated for a while! I hope this is acceptable! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	31. Authors aplogy

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I haven't updated in ages, I am so rubbish! I really want to keep on with this story but I've been under a lot of stress at the moment with school and my sister was in hospital and my Grandad is really sick but things are getting much better now (even though I've got exams soon!) so if you all want me to I will keep writing. So let me know if you want another update!

Again, really sorry

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	32. Maybe

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her! **

Carmella jumped out the car and walked across the road with Freddy to his house. She looked over at him and smiled. He was incredibly good looking. Maybe if they just…they hardly ever saw each other so it probably wouldn't even make things weird…maybe. He held the front door open for her and then went to get them drinks. She settled down on the sofa and pulled her cardigan off. Freddy walked back in and handed her a beer. Then he turned the Simpsons on. They chatted and watched TV for a couple of hours. She kept glancing over at him. Damn Freya had her thinking bad thoughts. Like what Freddy would look like naked….ah no! That was bad. Very bad. Thoughts like that would just lead to…Then Freddy leaned over and kissed her. It wasn't a friendly kiss either. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back so he was on top of her.

"Lets go upstairs." He murmured. Carmella nodded breathlessly and let him lead her to his bedroom.

Carmella woke up the next tangled in sheets and with Freddy's arms wrapped around her. She smiled and nestled closer to him. He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Morning Caramel" He murmured. She kissed him on the cheek and grinned.

"Good morning…tired?" She asked. Freddy grinned.

"Hell no…"

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I woke up to the sound of babies wailing. That was going to take some getting used to. I clambered out of bed and walked down the hall. The babies had individual nurseries-an upside to such a huge house. Ranger was sat in Liberty's bedroom with both of them balanced on his lap. He glanced up when I walked in and smiled broadly at me. He really looked like he belonged there, with the babies…with me. He put Liberty back in her crib and then walked past me to put Carlos back in his. Then he came back into the room and beckoned me top follow him. We walked down the stairs and into the main sitting room.

"Babe, I need to talk to you. Don't look so worried, I'm not going to ask you to leave or anything. But…I still have a high risk job. Anything could happen to me out there. If you want me to give it up-"

"No! Ranger I'd never ask you to do that, at least not at the moment. You're your own boss, so you can work as much or as little as you want. We'll just have to work around it all." I smiled and kissed him on the forehead. Celia walked in and smiled at us.

"Hey kids. How are the bambinos?" She asked. Ranger smiled.

"They're beautiful." He told her. She grinned and hugged her brother. Then she turned and looked at me.

"I have some clothes that my mother sent over of the bambinos. She heard you'd given birth and sent over a little hamper of gifts." Celia announced. I looked at Ranger with an expression of complete panic. Celia smiled "Don't worry; she doesn't know that they're Ric's babies yet. She just likes you, that's all." I nodded and looked over at Ranger.

"Quick question, when are we going to tell your family?" I asked. Ranger looked like he'd swallowed a cactus. He croaked rather uncharacteristically and looked to Celia for support. She shot him an unsympathetic grin and raised her eyebrows questioningly. Ranger looked back at me and opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"See I was thinking about this and I think that maybe we don't tell them." He suggested. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Ranger please explain to me how that will ever work!" I stared at him in disbelief. I could see Celia shaking with laughter.

"Listen babe, if you think your family are bad about the whole marriage thing then you are in for quite a shock."

"It's true" Celia said "When Mama happened to find out Ric had sex before marriage she bitch slapped him all round the house and out into the yard." She grinned at the memory. I was having trouble keeping a straight face. Ranger glowered at his sister.

"I know we'll have to tell them eventually. Maybe we could leave the country then phone to tell them."

"They'd hunt you down and you know it." Celia told him "You better tell them sooner rather than later. If they found out you kept this from them I assure you there will be the mother of all bitch slaps in store for you." Ranger flinched slightly. After arguing with Celia for a further ten minutes, he fixed the babies in their car seats and we were driving to the Manoso family house. I was the one feeling nervous now. Ranger's mother may be angry at him, but she was the woman who had done the deed with the woman's son and then claimed that the babies were another man's. I mentally prepared myself for the slapping of a lifetime. We rolled up the drive and pulled to a stop in front of the huge house. The butler hurried out to open the door for me and help get the babies out of the car. We were led into the large lounge that we'd been in at Christmas. Ranger's parents and two of his sisters were sprawled out on the sofas watching 'The Simpson' reruns. His mother stood when we entered and gave us both a hug, muttering something to Ranger about not getting in touch for months. Then she flitted over to admire the babies, cooing about how beautiful they were. Then she looked up at me.

"Where is the father?" She asked suspiciously. Ranger cleared his throat.

"That would be me." He announced. There was a moments silence before his sisters jumped up and shrieked excitedly about being aunts again, his mother beamed and hugged us again and his father got up to shake our hands. I let out the breath I'd been holding since I'd walked into the house and smiled. Everyone was smiling and dancing around, asking to hold the babies.

"I think we could slip out now and no one would notice." I muttered to Ranger. He almost smiled

"We'd have to leave the babies though, there's no way they're letting them go now." He whispered back. I weighed this up in my head and decided it was probably better for me to get my children. Mrs Manoso looked over at us

"So when is the wedding?" She asked. I looked up at Ranger

"Forget the kids, let's go now." He put an arm protectively around my shoulder, presumably to stop me from running away.

"We're not going to get married." Ranger said firmly. Everyone stopped fussing over the babies and stared at us in shock.

"Of course you are. You have children now." Mrs Manoso tried to reason.

"We both tried marriage and it didn't work out well for either of us." Ranger explained to his mother. Her lips pressed together, but she nodded in what I took to be acceptance.

"But the babies, they will be christened?" It seemed more of a statement then a question to me, but what did I know. Ranger looked over at me and I nodded.

"Yes of course, we'll let you know when the date of the christening is." I assured her. She nodded again and went back to fussing over Liberty and Carlos. We spent the rest of the day chatting with Ranger's family and exploring the amazing house and grounds. It was very disorientating to see Ranger with his family; he was a totally different man. He was laughing with his father, taunting his sisters and chatting to his mother. He made sure I was always involved and didn't feel like an outsider. It was a side to his personality that I had never expected to be shown. I didn't even realise this part of him existed. But it was always very obvious that Carmella was missing. Ranger would occasionally mention her and then look around to see that she wasn't there. It was almost heartbreaking. At the same time I wasn't worried about her, Carmella could hold her own. She was so strong but sometimes she just didn't realise the effect her actions had on her father. Maybe one day she'd wake up and realise how much he loved her.

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"I think my dad will be kind of glad that I'm gone" Carmella told Freddy as they ate lunch. Freddy looked up at her with a questioning expression.

"Why would you say that?" He asked with his mouth full of pasta. Carmella frowned and told him to close his mouth. She sighed.

"I just think he'll want time to bond with Stephie and the babies. I'd just get in the way of that." She said simply.

"Well maybe he wants you there so you can all bond as a family." Freddy suggested. Carmella stopped chewing and thought about this. She hadn't even considered that as a possibility. Maybe Freddy was right. Maybe her being in Florida was actually really selfish. And now her conscience was making her feel bad. Stupid conscience.

"You're right. I'll go see Madre later and then I'll find out about flights back up. I just wish I could see all of you more, the flight costs are killing me!" She smiled. Freddy smiled sadly.

"I think it's the right thing to do. You have no idea how much I'm going to miss you though." He said sincerely. Carmella reached over and grasped his hand. Leaving was going to be hard, but staying would be even harder.

Carmella drove over to her mothers later that day. It was getting dark by the time she'd reached the house and she was still getting used to Freddy's car. She walked across the street and knocked on the front door. There was no answer. Carmella frowned; her mother's car was in the drive and the house lights were on. Something wasn't right. She walked around the back of the house and found the back door wide open but couldn't hear anyone moving inside. She walked into the house cautiously.

"Hello, is anyone here? Madre? Lucas?" She called and walked slowly through the kitchen. She walked across the hall and pushed the door of the lounge open. Her mother was lying on the floor; her swollen tongue was just visible in her mouth that was slightly open as if she'd been surprised. The bruising on her neck made it clear what had happened. Carmella shrieked and ran back out of the house to get her cell phone out of the car. She ran straight across the road with stopping to see if anything was coming. She ran straight out in front of a Volvo estate. Her body was pitched off the hood, flew into the air and slammed down onto the windscreen. Of course the driver hadn't seen her; she was dressed entirely in black and had just darted out. In fact, the driver could swear he saw her smile as she slammed back down onto the car. Maybe it was because she could now finally be at peace with her mother.

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Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update and I'm sorry it's short but wanted to keep it quite sudden. Thanks to everyone who wants me to continue, it means so much to me and all your words of support are brilliant! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!


	33. Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her! **

I grasped Ranger's hand as the hearse rolled past and we fell in behind to join the funeral procession. The flowers that lay on the coffin were beautiful, the purple flowers standing out against the lilies. Her favourite colour, I was assured. Tears filled in my eyes. I looked up at Ranger and saw he was fighting to keep control of his emotions. Celia was stood on my other side, her eyes glazed with tears.

"It's so horrible." She whispered "she may have been a pain in the ass at times but she went through so much and she never really got a chance to live." I nodded, not knowing what I could possibly say. Carmella didn't want us to cry. She said a funeral should be a celebration of a person's life, not a time for grieving about the end of that life. I saw Junior pushing her along in her wheelchair while her friends from Florida walked alongside her. Her friends from Trenton had offered to come but she had told them there was no point them paying to fly over to Florida to give their respects to a woman they'd never met and had only heard bad things about. She didn't want her mother's funeral turning in to a circus of sorts. I could see where she was coming from. One of her legs was seriously broken and she had broken the ankle on her other leg. Her ribs were cracked again and she had a broken arm. The doctors said she was lucky to be alive after the collision. In the worst case scenario, she'd be wheel chair bound for the rest of her life. No one could say for sure how extensive the damage to her back was after the accident. This was something that she'd already taken in her stride and almost accepted. I didn't know where she got her strength.

We'd got the call the day after we went to see Ranger's family. We'd immediately flown out to Florida. The sight of Carmella in the hospital bed almost broke my heart. She was still out cold with her leg and ankle in plaster and a drip. The doctors told us that she may never wake up. Ranger had looked utterly distraught. She'd woken up screaming the next day while I was alone with her. Ranger ran back into the room to find his daughter shrieking and fighting against her restraints, screaming for her mother. In the end the nurse had to come in and sedate her so she didn't do herself any further injury. They wanted to keep her in for further observation, but she screamed so loudly that Ranger had to tell them that it wouldn't be possible and that she had to come home. For the whole time she'd been back in Trenton she didn't say a word. It was only when we flew down to Florida and she saw her friends and had to help arrange the funeral that she started to talk again. When she was at home, she only spoke to us through Ella. The psychiatrist she'd seen while she'd been at hospital told us that she felt responsible for her mother's death and wanted to distance herself from us to try and make sure we didn't have the same fate. Nothing we said to her would change this. Freddy and Oli had tried to talk to her on our behalf but the answer had always come back the same 'I'm just trying to deal with this'. It was killing Ranger. He couldn't stand feeling so helpless, especially when it came to Carmella.

We arrived at the cemetery and all stood around the grave where Eva's coffin was being lowered. Carmella was grasping Freddy's hand as if her life depended on it. Tears were pouring silently down her face as the priest began reading the celebration of Eva Manoso's life. It turned out she never officially changed her last name to Bernards. This seemed to prove to Carmella that she'd never really lost her mother to James; a final comfort. Celia had her eyes closed and was sobbing quietly. There were more people there then I had expected. James, of course, wasn't there. He'd disappeared on the day of Eva's murder and hadn't come back. Eva's sister was stood near Carmella holding baby Lucas and looking terrified that she might drop him. Eva's mother was lurking somewhere. I'd caught a glimpse of her earlier and had been terrified. She looked like a walking skeleton, her face contorted with rage. The thought of her creeping around a graveyard wasn't comforting in the slightest.

"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." The priest finally said as he scattered a handful of earth into the grave. Carmella and Celia did the same. At the request of the family there was no wake so everyone trickled away until there were only a few people left. Unfortunately one of those people was Eva's mother. She stalked over to us and stood inches away from Carmella.

"You murderer." She hissed maliciously at her granddaughter "You killed your own mother. You choked the life out of her with no remorse. You can't run away from what you did forever." Carmella raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"In case you hadn't noticed I am, in fact, in a wheelchair. The chances of me running at all are quite slim." She retorted. The woman glared and stormed away, dragging her other daughter with her, who glanced apologetically at Carmella. Freddy rested a hand on Carmella's shoulder.

"Let's go girl wonder." He said comfortingly. She nodded and allowed herself to be steered out of the cemetery. Ranger grasped my hand tightly and we followed them down the road to the RangeMan building.

At Carmella's request there wasn't going to be a wake. She didn't think the idea of people getting together just to share their grief was particularly appealing. When we got to the building, Carmella disappeared up to her room with Freddy. Her other friends had gone home, each making a valid excuse to free themselves. I didn't blame them; they were only 16 and this was something that they couldn't deal with. Carmella had gone from one of the most bright and vivacious teenagers to a complete social recluse. We walked up the stairs to the offices. Carmella was still receiving threatening letters and we were no closer to tracking James or Antonio Cervezo. Ranger was worried. I was just scared for Carmella. Ella was waiting for us with Carlos and Liberty. They were both sleeping and Liberty had drool down her chin. Ranger smiled

"She's just like her mother." I frowned at him

"Shut up! I do not look like that while I sleep!" I laughed. Ranger grinned

"No that's true, you sort of burble and snore instead of just drooling quietly." I glared at him for a few seconds before we both started laughing. We hadn't laughed in so long; it felt amazing to finally let it all out. Of course it didn't last long.

"Ranger? The police have been around again. They say that if we don't take Carmella to them soon they're going to get an arrest warrant for her and do us for withholding evidence." Bobby announced. We both stopped and looked at him. He grimaced apologetically.

"Sorry but they sounded pretty pissed, I thought it would be better to just tell-"

"Yeah it's fine. Thanks Bobby." Ranger said shortly. Bobby nodded and walked out the office, followed by all the other employees who were presumably to uncomfortable to stay.

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Carmella looked nervously around the police station and looked up at her dad.

"I don't understand what they want" She whispered "all I did was find Madre's body…" She trailed off and looked down. Ranger rested an arm around her shoulder. After a twenty minute wait, a female officer walked up to them.

"Carmella Manoso?" She asked, smiling comfortingly. Carmella nodded and the woman indicated for them to follow her. They were led to a small interview room where there was already a stern looking detective with a mono-brow and a cheap suit. The female officer sat next to him and indicated that they were to sit opposite.

"My name is Detective Jacobs. We need to ask you a few questions about your mother, Miss Manoso." He said, pausing for dramatic effect. Carmella simply nodded and continued to look down at the table.

"See here's the thing Carmella, we know that you had a particularly volatile relationship with your mother. You made public the fact that you 'hated her' and even said on numerous occasions that you wished she was dead. Then you turn up out of the blue to see her and the next thing anyone knows, she's dead. You can see how that looks I'm sure." Jacobs said with an icy smile on his face. Carmella slowly looked up from the table.

"I really hope you're not suggesting what I think you are. Earlier today I had to watch my mother being buried. She was 32 years old and she had a baby son. My brother now has to grow up without a mother. That is something I would never wish on anyone. I admit that at times I did hate my mother as I'm sure most teenagers do. I did not kill her. I came to Florida to patch things up with her, which I did. I went back to see her before I went back to New Jersey and found her dead. You want to be talking to her husband, James. She was terrified of him and she knew he was going to do something to her. I refuse to say anything more until I have a lawyer present." She announced firmly and stared at Detective Jacobs. He simply smirked and shrugged.

"If you think it will help. I've got to tell you Carmella, we've got forensic evidence that you were in the house. We've got witnesses who saw you leave the house in a panic. It's all pretty damning. You're going to need divine intervention to prove your innocence here." He sneered. Carmella smiled

"Then I guess I better start praying."

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I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! Ok I will be a better author and update way more often, I promise! Thank you if you're still reading this even though I am rubbish!! Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. Thanks for reading. Keep all the reviews coming. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Arigato!


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